BREAKING: Five-star DL David Hicks commits to Texas A&M

In somewhat of a surprising decision, 2023 Katy (Tex.) Paetow five-star defensive lineman David Hicks announced his commitment to Texas A&M over Oklahoma, Alabama, Michigan State and Oregon, among others.

It came down to the Aggies and Sooners for Hicks and in recent weeks, Oklahoma looked to have surged in his recruitment, but Texas A&M never let up. The five-star made back-to-back visits to College Station for the Appalachian State game and the Miami game and those two visits made the difference.

Entering the season, Hicks previously noted to Aggie Scoop the main thing he wanted to see from Texas A&M this fall were how the staff used the freshmen defensive linemen, and how he’d be used within the front. Through his two gameday visits, he liked what he saw. 

“I saw that they rotated, they really did play a lot of their freshmen defensive linemen,” Hicks said. “That’s pretty much all I really wanted to see.”

With his own recruitment now shut down, Hicks is excited to put on his recruiting hat and working on others to join him in College Station.

“I just wanted to pull [my decision] up just so whatever school I do go to, I can help their recruiting class,” he said. 

Hicks is the second defensive line commit in the Aggies’ 2023 class, joining Humble (Tex.) Atascocita three-star nose tackle Samu Taumanupepe. The five-star is the 12th commit in Texas A&M’s class and the second five-star, joining Denton (Tex.) Ryan five-star linebacker Anthony Hill, the top-ranked linebacker in the country.

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.” — Charles Power, On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings

Hicks ranks as the No. 9 prospect and No. 1 defensive lineman in the country per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. The five-star 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.