Houston is not messing around when it comes to quarterbacks.
Today the Cougars made the commitment of Ben Hicks official by signing him to a financial aid agreement that will bring him to campus in January.
Hicks was a highly sought after quarterback out of Midland High School in Waco (TX). He is a 6-foot-2, 194 pound pro-style gunslinger. Hicks chose Houston over Indiana and Southern Mississippi, but got attention from Baylor and other Big 12 schools. And it’s easy to see why the phone at the Hicks house was likely ringing off the hook.
Last year, during his junior season at Midway, Hicks threw for 3,741 yards and 36 touchdowns, completing 68 percent of his passes while throwing just six interceptions. And for good measure he rushed for 168 yards and three touchdowns.
Hicks took his talents to the most prestigious camps in the country over the summer. He was ranked as the No. 2 quarterback in the Elite 11 camp in Oregon, which features the 18 highest-ranked high school quarterbacks in the country. You can see Hicks and the other 17 signal callers in a special on ESPN2 called “Journey to Greatness” on August 23rd. Get a sneak preview here.
Hicks also went to the Nike Football Training Camp in Columbus, OH, in June and walked away as MVP.
So how does Hicks fit in at Houston? How about immediately? Since he will enroll in January, Hicks will get a chance to go through some winter conditioning and spring practice. There are some who think Hicks should redshirt his freshman year because O’Korn will only be a junior in 2015.
But coach Tony Levine could easily bring Hicks in right away to either challenge O’Korn or have a young backup with an impressive resume. Houston isn’t particularly deep at quarterback; David Piland had an unfortunate end to his football career, which allowed O’Korn to step onto the stage last season (as a freshman). This year the Cougars only have one other player on the roster who has thrown a pass, and Greg Ward Jr. was converted to a wide receiver. Levine brought in JUCO transfer Hunter McCoy, and there are a pair of freshmen on campus, including one of the best names around: Bear Fenimore.
Neither Hicks nor Levine have said anything publicly yet, but look for that to change. The whole reason Hicks could sign his financial-aid agreement was because the NCAA made a clarification to a recruiting rule. Now Houston can not only hype up Hicks, but there are also no longer any contact restrictions with him.
No matter what happens this is a big get for a program not only looking to make a splash in the AAC, but in the recruiting hotbed better known as the state of Texas.
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