BREAKING: Hicks Commits To ND
The 2017 California defensive back made his first visit to Notre Dame this weekend, but based on what he was looking for in a college, it was quite obvious even before the visit that he would be struck by what Notre Dame could offer.
He was.
The La Mirada High School standout chose the Irish over offers from more than 30 schools like Michigan, UCLA, Oregon, Northwestern, Cal and Washington among several others.
“It just shows you the type of kid he is when you have everybody in the country, including USC, UCLA, Cal close to home, knocking on the door, and Notre Dame is struggling right now, but it doesn’t matter,” La Mirada High School head coach Mike Moschetti told Irish Sports Daily.
“He fell in love with the campus, he fell in love with the coaching staff. He wants to go somewhere he feels he can have an impact, get a big-time degree and play.”
The 6-foot, 180-pounder is having a great senior season and has even seen an increase in interest just this fall.
“He’s a bigger, long corner,” Moschetti said. “When I say that, he’s not 6-2 or 6-3, but he’s a legit 6-foot. He’s got really long arms. He’s got incredible feet.
“He’s played against some of the best receivers in Southern California and shut every single one of them down from Mater Dei to Bosco to San Clemente and Orange Lutheran. They’ve all got big-time guys and he’s completely shut all of them down.”
But the main things Hicks and his family are focused on are academics and the opportunities after football. Notre Dame checked all of those boxes and Hicks pulled the trigger. Despite a host of options, Hicks’ only other official visit prior to Notre Dame was Northwestern and he had none locked in afterward.
Hicks gives the Irish 18 verbal commitments in the Class of 2017 and is the third defensive back in the group, joining Paulson Adebo and Isaiah Robertson. In our opinion, Hicks’ commitment should allow Notre Dame to focus on trying to grab California cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. and one pure safety to the group to finish out the secondary.