Ryan Day shares excitement over C.J. Hicks' growth

There are high expectations for Ohio State linebacker C.J. Hicks heading into his sophomore season. But the former five-star recruit lived up to the billing in the spring.

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was asked about Hicks after the team’s spring game and whether his performance was a flash of what he can be or if it was a consistent sign of what he has done all spring.

“I’m gonna put a new category in there: He flashed more today,” Day said after Ohio State’s spring game about two weeks ago. “We’re still looking for that consistency but you’re starting to see it more and more. He’s making plays. He’s showing up. (Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles) and (graduate assistant James Laurinaitis) are both doing a great job with him.”

Hicks played in 12 games last season, totaling six tackles as a reserve defender on the national semifinalist.

He was the star of the 2022 Buckeyes recruiting class coming out of Dayton (Ohio) Archbishop Alter. According to the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking, Hicks was the No. 14 overall recruit and No. 2 linebacker in the country. The only linebacker ranked ahead of him was LSU‘s Harold Perkins, who emerged his freshman year as a national star.

The Ohio native was also the top recruit in the recruiting class for Ohio State before Sonny Styles — who was also the only player from Ohio ranked ahead of him — reclassified.

Knowles, who also coaches the linebackers in addition to being the defensive coordinator, said Hicks has been great in the Ohio State linebacker room.

“C.J. is a great athlete, really good kid, good energy, good team guy,” Knowles said earlier this spring in March, via Lettermen Row. “And I think that is worth saying, right? Because when you’re a five star and Mr. Everything, I think it’s challenging to come into a top-five program and not play right away. But he handled it really well. C.J.’s situation is different because there’s a couple guys coming back, there’s a lot of experience there.

“He plays in a position that’s closer to the ball, so I feel like there’s some learning in terms of all the schemes and all the different fits that you get as a linebacker. if you’re up front, you’re attacking. You can get in pretty early in your career. And if you’re on that back end, you have space and distance and all that to figure it out.”