Promising Ohio State defensive weapon becomes priority project after Cotton Bowl

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jim Knowles likely did not believe he had boxed himself into a corner last June when he predicted Ohio State football would “unleash” C.J. Hicks this season.

That word became attached to seemingly every headline written about the second-year linebacker since. A mere 71 defensive snaps across six games later, Hicks may not be on a leash, but he certainly did not run free.

Reminded Tuesday that only one game remained to make good on that promise, Knowles cracked a sheepish grin. The defensive coordinator and linebackers coach remains as intrigued as ever about Hicks — or perhaps more, based on his play in prep for Friday’s Cotton Bowl against Missouri.

Yet even if starting linebacker Tommy Eichenberg can’t play, Hicks’ coming out party seems more likely to come in 2024. Knowles, though, stands by that “unleash” terminology — to the point that he pledged to make it an offseason priority.

“You see things in bowl practice, where you get a chance to line him up in different places, and I think you see that incredible talent and speed,” Knowles said.

“I know I have my work cut out for me with C.J. and finding the right place for him, because he’s really a guy who needs to be unleashed. He needs to be able to play free and roam and do a bunch of different things.”

Hicks came out of Dayton’s Archbishop Alter as a five-star, top-10 prospect. So a rabid fan base had already keyed itself up for his breakthrough before Knowles all but promised to make it happen.

Problem was, Hicks never had a path to first-team reps at linebacker behind veteran starter Steele Chambers and primary reserve Cody Simon. That changes next season, with Eichenberg and Chambers both expected to depart for NFL opportunities.

Except, what if linebacker is not the position which best unleashes Hicks? Knowles previously floated him as a possible fit for the currently estranged Jack package. He would serve as the floating stand-up end/linebacker hybrid which Knowles used extensively at Oklahoma State.

Knowles said Hicks also has worked as an edge rusher in bowl prep — though not really as part of OSUs defense. Rather, they utilized him there when trying to give the Buckeye offense different looks.

“He’s looked pretty good off the edge,” Knowles said, in a tone that suggested he was underselling the result.

So great, put him up front. Except if J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer both come back to join Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry, the Buckeyes are sorta full up on proven defensive ends. Whether tossing Hicks into that rotation or using him as the Jack, OSU would run the danger of taking a third-year player who people across the board remain enamored with and confining him to a niche role.

Hicks has company in that regard. True freshman Arvell Reese came in as a linebacker, worked out at defensive end, and is currently back at linebacker, per Knowles. Mitchell Melton has played both, and when he returns from his knee injury, he will join the list of what Knowles calls “combo players.”

Chambers can relate. He started his career as a running back before transitioning to linebacker in 2021 and eventually becoming a three-year starter. He sees the coaching staff moving Hicks and Reese around, looking for a way to get them on the field because they are too good not to play.

Purgatory isn’t fun, nor does it last forever.

“There’s always uncertainty whenever you’re not getting in the game, and it always sucks,” Chambers said. “But it’s just just putting your head down and realizing that you’ve got to do the work to get there. I think a lot of the guys, they’ve realized that and they’ve really just stuck to their guns and realized hey, they’ve done the work now and it’s gonna pay off.”

A year ago, Knowles made repairing the back end of the defense — both in skill and scheme — an offseason priority. Mission accomplished. Now, he more or less made the same vow regarding Hicks. He wants to put time and thought into finding a way to “create some things around him.”

A year from now, perhaps the conversation around Hicks will finally used “unleashed” in the past tense.