A matured, more physical Kalib Hicks hopes to burst onto the scene in 2024
"Who is No. 0?"
It's a question I heard more than once during spring ball, and it was quite obvious what sparked the intrigue on running back Kalib Hicks.
In a room full of impressive athletes, there's not a running back in DeMarco Murray's stable who looks more "SEC-ready" than Hicks. He's one of the first guys you want to get off the bus when OU heads to Auburn (Ala.) this fall, but the redshirt freshman is hoping to play a much larger role than that this coming fall.
In 2023, we saw Hicks log three carries for 14 yards and one score in the season opener against Arkansas State. He wouldn't see the field again until the Alamo Bowl in the waning days of December, and even then, he didn't have another carry.
Given the state of flux that the Sooners' running back room was early on last year, it was fairly shocking to see a player of his stature not get a chance to show what he could do while Gavin Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes worked back from injuries. Sawchuk eventually gained a firm grip on the RB1 spot and rushed for over 100 yards in each of Oklahoma's last five contests, but the RB2 spot belonged to Tawee Walker, who's now toting the rock for the Wisconsin Badgers.
Walker's exit provides a valuable opportunity for someone else to become the thunder to Sawchuk's lightning, and in the SEC, there will need to be both.
Hicks could be a challenger for that role based on what we've seen to this point in the spring, even if Barnes has a leg up in the race right now.
The version of Hicks that the media spoke with last week is more seasoned, more physical, and more likely to have a significant role for Team 130. When asked about trying to learn and be patient in his first year, the redshirt freshman was quite candid.
"It's frustrating," Hicks said on Friday. "When you're trying to adapt to a new team, a new coaching staff, and just transitioning from high school to college. It's real. It's not easy for a freshman to just ball out from the start, but I got the hang of it.
"The running back room helped me and helped me develop and get smart and just be more mature and know what I'm doing on the field."
When asked about some of the adjustments that he's had to make whole transitioning, Hicks seemed to lean into the physical aspect of playing running back at OU, and how that's been the biggest obstacle for him thus far.
"I'd say adjustment is just the physicality and the intensity of things and just knowing what I need to work on and absolutely just working on it and being very detailed and just learning from the guys ahead of me like Gavin and Jovantae and just being more mature and being more physical and also getting stronger and know what I'm doing on the field..."
He then came back to it again in another answer, this time citing how important it is in the blocking portion of his responsibilities.
The physicality and intensity of things, knowing what I need to work on, absolutely working on it, being very detailed, learning from the guys ahead of me, like Gavin and Jovantae, being more mature, being more physical, and also getting stronger, and knowing what I'm doing on the field."
Having guys like Sawchuk, Barnes, and now Sam Frankin around him is a great resource for a player like Hicks. Their experience can help him develop traits that he otherwise might not have focused on. However, it's their presence that has also kept him from seeing the field much to this point, and he spoke about the challenges that come with that.
"I'd say just really just putting my head down and working and just waiting for my opportunity. What's meant for me is meant for me and I've seen the other guys working and they're developing and Gavin Sawchuk had a great year towards the end and I supported him. I just supported my teammates, Jovantae Barnes. Just seeing those guys and people, obviously, we got to stay in the training room and stay healthy. I think this year we'll be very healthy, and we keep things in check, and we'll all be good for the season."
Heading into the 2024 season, and with another year of experience and development behind him, Hicks' expects to carve out a much larger role for himself in this offense.
"Next year, I feel like I'll be more—obviously, physically, I got stronger, faster, and also just smarter about the game, just knowing the details and what I need to focus on," Hicks said. "The running back group helped me. Gavin Sawchuck, Jovantae Barnes, and even Sam (Franklin), very veteran guys, helped me do the best I can on the field and DeMarco (Murray), too, as well."
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