CJ Hicks Has Made Transition To Defensive End, Now Time For A Big Summer

When the decision was made to move linebacker CJ Hicks to defensive end, it was positively received by all parties. But that was just the beginning of the process.

Now a senior, Hicks is going into his final year as a Buckeye playing a new position. Fortunately for him, it’s not dissimilar to what he did back in high school when he was an unstoppable force as an attacking playmaker.

Doing it against college offensive tackles and without the benefit of being a blitzer, however, means that there is plenty for Hicks to learn. That process began back in the winter and has continued just about every day since.

During the spring, Hicks could be seen getting extra help from coaches or teammates following practice. The discussions ranged from footwork to hand placement to the need to be disciplined and well beyond. Even though CJ Hicks’ athletic profile would seem to fit a pass-rushing position quite well, this isn’t just a switch that gets flipped.

“He works really, really hard every day, puts in extra work,” head coach Ryan Day told reporters on Tuesday. “He was even in there just when I walked in here, he was out there getting some some extra work on his own. He wants it. I think he’s made the transition well.”

Moving closer to the line of scrimmage is not an uncommon transition for players. Senior Sonny Styles did it last year when he moved from safety to linebacker. Day is hoping for a similar success story this year for CJ Hicks.

“When you make the transition from off the ball to on the ball — and you watch Sonny transfer from being at the third level to the second level — when you make that transition from being on the second level to on the ball, things change,” Day said. “It was remarkable to me how quickly Sonny made that transition. I’m hoping C.J. can do the same thing. But it does take time.”

Things start a bit slowly for everybody, which makes things doubly difficult because the closer to the line of scrimmage a player moves, the quicker everything happens. In the secondary, a player has time to adjust. At linebacker, Hicks could take a false step and still have an opportunity to recover. At defensive end, everything happens at the snap of the ball and one false step could mean it’s time to eat a pancake.

“As opposed to being off the ball and running to the ball, you’re constantly engaged in blocks or looking to avoid them,” Day explained. “He did a really good job in the passing game. He’s growing in the run game, learning how to set the edge and get off blocks.”

The better that Hicks is able to understand and operate his role, the more snaps he will see this season. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson will continue to work with him in the film room and with technique, and he’ll also be busy with OSU strength coach Mickey Marotti.

This is going to be the final summer of development for CJ Hicks, and so far everybody is happy with how the process has gone to this point.

“We’re encouraged with what we see,” Day said. “But again, it’s going to have to be a big, big summer for him. And I know he and Mick and Larry are talking about exactly what the right weight should be for him to carry, knowing that he’s going to be on the line.”

The Buckeyes will have five fourth-year defensive ends all looking for playing time. Larry Johnson has shown in the past that he has no problem rotating players, but they have to have earned it.

This summer is the next step in CJ Hicks’ final quest to make the kind of impact he’s spent his first three years building towards.

Time moves quickly and the Buckeyes are hoping Hicks does the same.