Ohio State Football: Jim Knowles says he will unleash former five-star recruit

The Ohio State football team is looking for some impact players on the defensive side of the ball. They have two really good players on the defensive line in J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and a good linebacker in Tommy Eichenberg. Other than that, they don’t have anyone to rely on.

Jim Knowles is looking to change that. He needs guys he can count on to improve the defense. One of those players that fans have been clamoring to get an opportunity is former five-star recruit C.J. Hicks. He was the best linebacker in his recruiting class back in 2022.

Hicks hasn’t gotten a good amount of snaps yet to be able to make an impact. It seems that will change this season based on what Knowles had to say about the very talented linebacker when he met with some media members this afternoon.

Knowles said that Hicks will “be unleashed” this season. Hopefully, that means he takes snaps away from Cody Simon, who hasn’t really done anything in his time with the Buckeyes. Hicks has the most pure talent of any linebacker on the roster so he needs to see the field ASAP.

Knowles acknowledged that his play during the Spring Game made him realize that he has made the necessary improvements to see more snaps. That’s something that I noticed as well watching the game. He’s getting better and he was already pretty good.

Hicks obviously won’t be in a position to start yet with Eichenberg and Steele Chambers still with the Ohio State football program for another year. That doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t get the majority of the snaps when one of them is off the field for whatever reason.

Hicks is a guy that can make plays. I can’t wait to see him on the field doing just that this season.