Hicks has one plan: dominate
Aug. 21, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Craig Slater
Akiem Hicks has one goal this season.
"Dominate. That's all I plan to do."
With biceps the size of most men's quadriceps, a chest that's rounder than a barrel and obvious athleticism, the new defensive lineman with the University of Regina Rams football club could very well achieve his goal in his first season in the competitive Canada West conference.
"He's a very good player," said Rams head coach Frank McCrystal following the team's Friday morning practice on the U of R campus. "We feel he is really going to be an impact player on our football team and in this league.
"His size and strength and athleticism is all very impressive."
Hicks, who runs a 40-yard dash in 4.89 seconds, is a muscular 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds. He spent much of the morning workout shoving various Rams offensive linemen out of his way and at times controlling the line of scrimmage with relative ease.
But because Hicks was inactive in 2009, he said it'll take him some time to get up to full speed.
"I've been dying to get back out there. It's been a long time, man," said the Elk Grove, Calif., product. "It might take a while to get my legs back under me, but it felt so good to be back on the field."
After dominating during two junior college seasons with the Sacramento City Panthers -- he was a 2008 Mid-Empire Conference first-team all-star -- Hicks was ranked fourth in the 2009 junior-college recruiting class among defensive tackles. He was rated 20th among all junior-college prospects.
As a result, he was recruited by numerous top-flight NCAA Division I programs like the University of Oregon, the University of Tennessee and Louisiana State University, all of which are BCS contenders almost every year.
Hicks chose the Southeastern Conference powerhouse LSU Tigers and practised with the team during its summer workouts a year ago.
But just prior to the team's first non-conference game, Hicks learned his athletic scholarship had been pulled by the LSU administration. The school cited minor recruiting violations that involved lodging and transportation during a unofficial recruiting visit as the reasoning behind the scholarship being revoked.
McCrystal first heard of Hicks when he was in Orlando in January for the East-West Shrine Bowl, an all-star game in which former Rams receiver Jordan Sisco played.
Through the coaches' grapevine, McCrystal learned that Hicks was in need of a place to play in 2010.
"I can't say it was my first thought, my second thought or even my third or fourth," Hicks said about coming to play in Regina. "I just ended up here. It's an opportunity to come and play football. It's an opportunity to do something I love to do and have fun doing it. It's a continuation of my career."
McCrystal believes the addition of Hicks to the Rams' defensive line immediately makes the team stronger up front. The plan is for the Rams to use their newest weapon in numerous packages.
"If he is what we believe he is, then teams will run away from him if you line him up on an end," McCrystal said. "We'll line him up inside at times and on the end at other times where we see fit to use him.
"He's such a force that we plan to use him all over the place on the line."
Hicks admitted he's still getting used to the Canadian game -- most notably, lining up one yard off the ball at the line of scrimmage. But he said by the end of training camp he should be up to full speed and more familiar with his new surroundings.
"I just can't wait to get in there and start playing again," he said. "I just want to dominate and have a good season."
The Rams will continue their two-a-day practices -- slated for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. -- through the weekend at their practice facility on the U of R campus.
The annual Green and Gold scrimmage is set for Friday, 7 p.m., at Mosaic Stadium.