D.J. Hicks, one of the top defensive-line recruits in the class of 2023, has officially enrolled at Allen High School.
Hicks, who played for Morton Ranch for his freshman and sophomore seasons, is moving as his father, David Hicks Sr., has been offered a place on the staff of Allen's new football staff, led by head coach Chad Morris.
After moving up to varsity at Morton Ranch in 2020, D.J. immediately became the most impactful player on the Mavericks' defense. Through the season, Hicks racked up 76 tackles, along with 7 sacks and 5 forced fumbles. As a result of his incredible play during the season, he was placed on the 2nd team All-Defensive Line for District 19-6A, and was the only sophomore to be on either team. D.J. also prides himself on being a leader in the classroom and throughout campus as well.
During the season, Hicks received his first official offer, which was Texas Southern, but his stock has gone through the roof in recent months. Since his season ended, D.J. has been offered by 26 schools, most of those being major powerhouse programs. To be more specific, Hicks has offers from 9 out of the 14 SEC teams, and 5 Big 12 teams.
The Hicks family will be busy visiting schools this summer, and have already started off strong with a visit to Texas A&M on June 1st, the day that the NCAA Dead Period ended. As of the time of writing, D.J. already has 10 visits scheduled, including Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Ohio State, and Clemson.
As for David Sr., he was most recently the Assistant Head Football Coach and Head Track Coach for Morton Ranch. Just like his son, he was once a football star, and briefly played professionally in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs after graduating from Grambling State. Although he is not sure in what capacity he will be coaching for the Eagles this year, he is ecstatic to be joining such a historically successful program.
In a recent interview on the VYPE U Podcast, D.J. said that he and his dad wake up early everyday to train and work on specific aspects of his game. "I gotta stay on what I have, because I know it can be taken away at any minute" said Hicks Jr.
Allen High School is coming off of an undefeated regular season, where they scored an average of over 45 points per game, before eventually losing to Euless Trinity in the third round of the playoffs. Despite the departure of former HC Terry Gambill, players on this year's Eagles team are motivated to have an even better season than their 2020 campaign. Other than Hicks, players to look out for from Allen include Neto Umeozulu, Caison Smith, Nick Blessing, and Blake Vaughn.
You can check out my interveiw with D.J. below:
