David Hicks, the No. 1 DL in the country, commits to Texas A&M

Sep 28, 2022 - 8:59 PM

These days, commitments are rarely a surprise. The “crystal ball” industry usually makes them a foregone conclusion, with fans knowing days if not weeks beforehand where a player will commit. But occasionally those crystal balls are wrong, and today they were wrong in the most glorious of fashions, as David Hicks, the nation’s top-rated defensive line recruit, spurned the Oklahoma Sooners to commit to Texas A&M.

Hicks’ commitment isn’t 100% shocking, as he has visited College Station many times over the past year, including the past two home games. But when he skipped the A&M pool party at the end of July to head to Norman, momentum had seemed to shift the Sooners’ way, to the point that all of the crystal balls on 247 Sports, including the vaunted expert Steve Wiltfong, predicted him to commit to Oklahoma.

Hicks is rated as the No. 12 overall player in the country, the No. 1 defensive linemen and the No. 1 player in Texas. He becomes the top recruit in the Aggies’ 2023 recruiting class, which now includes two five star defenders with Hicks joining the nation’s top linebacker Anthony Hill. While the class still only has 12 commits, half of those are ranked among the top 100 in the country, and ³⁄₄ are blue chip recruits.

A&M’s recruiting ranking jumps from 24 to 18 with this commitment, and with A&M having many more slots to fill, a top 10-15 finish still is not out of the question.

David Hicks Highlights