On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine: Oklahoma leads for 5-star David Hicks

Katy (Texas) Paetow five-star defensive lineman David Hicks announced Friday that will make his college decision September 28.

With less than a week to go from his decision, the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine gives Oklahoma a 77.5% chance of landing the five-star recruit.

Texas A&M is second at 17.2%. The other five schools in Hicks’ top seven — Alabama, Miami, Michigan State, Oregon and Texas — all have a 1.0% or less.

RPM was released to the public in December. The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. 

It factors in machine learning, social sentiment, visits and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.

The On3 Consensus — a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies — has Hicks as the No. 9 prospect and No. 1 defensive lineman in the 2023 cycle.

He currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $248k. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

David Hicks Scouting Summary

Physically-developed defensive lineman with advanced power along with length and quickness. Possesses a big frame with a muscled build and an 80-inch wingspan at 6-foot-4. Has brute strength which he pairs with initial quickness to create steady disruption along the line of scrimmage. Consistently shows quick and powerful hands at the point of attack with some advanced pass rush technique for a young defensive lineman. Very much a power player at this point in his development, but plays with some nuance and technical skill. Working at both defensive end and defensive tackle as a junior at a powerhouse program in Texas’ highest classification. A strong, but not elite athlete. Turned in dominant showings at college camps prior to his junior season.