The 2019 class for Oklahoma has arrived in Norman for summer workouts. Before the group officially moved in, SoonerScoop.com caught up with most of the signees one last time.

Call it arrogance if you want, but when there’s a top prospect in the state of Kansas and Oklahoma really wants them, OU fans believe he’s a Sooner.

Doesn’t matter if Kansas is knocking on the door or Kansas State. If OU makes the push, it should be game, set, match for OU.

Hicks was a little different because sometimes prospects don’t have the ability to make all the necessary visits and get a feel of everything. Hicks did. Seriously, his sophomore and junior summers were just full of one trip after another to realize what he wanted to do.

In the end, it kept coming back to OU. It kept coming to back to coaches Lincoln Riley and Calvin Thibodeaux. That was more than enough for the Sooners.

“Coach Thibs has been like a second father figure to me,” Hicks said. “He has been like I can call or text him whenever and just telling me what I need to work on.

“With Coach Riley, me and my dad were on a visit. He wanted to talk to us in the office. He told me how much I’d mean to the program. We had that sincere connection, sincere coach-to-player bond.”

So yes, Hicks was comfortable with Riley and Thibodeaux. But like almost every defensive signee for OU’s 2019 class, he put his name on the dotted line not knowing who the heck was going to be the defensive coordinator.

One of the first trips for Alex Grinch after getting the job was to head to Wichita and get to know Hicks and family.

“It was a little bit of a rough time not knowing, but I had complete faith in Coach Riley that he was going to make the right call.

“Coach Grinch is a good guy you can talk to, a younger guy. He has that fire that not a lot of coaches have. It’s good to see he’s not a pushover. He’s going to get after you.”

Out with one Kansas defensive lineman and in with another. For Hicks, getting to know and getting to watch Amani Bledsoe the last few seasons was huge.

It’s just a coincidence that they’re both from the state of Kansas because most agree they’re almost the same person when it comes to their personalities.

“He’s been that guy I looked up to,” Hicks said. “We come from that same Kansas background. I’ve talked to him a lot of times and always feel I can go to him.

“I have to prove people wrong. Kansas does produce, but people don’t us a chance. I have to get out there and show them.”

Hicks was a dominant state champion wrestler as well, but he said he doesn’t believe he will wrestle for the Sooners.

Quotable

“He’s been there for me every step of the way even when I didn’t think he was. Making sure I can be the best I can be – good person, good at school, everything. Making sure I succeed even though a lot of people don’t want me to. He’s been that role model and kept me humble.” – Hicks on his father, Kelvin, one of the biggest OU supporters on social media