Clarence Hicks is an edge rusher that played his high school ball at Pine Forest in Pensacola, Florida. He started his college career at the JUCO level, opting to attend Hutchinson Community College in Kansas.I asked Hicks about his experience at the JUCO level prior to making the jump to UTSA:My overall experience was very humbling. I feel like it prepares you for a lot in life because you have to go really far from home to go to the best JUCO's. Going to Kansas thousands of miles away from my home was a huge adjustment for me. JUCO is a lot different from D-1, because they are sort of trying to make you quit. They are trying to see who really lands and who the real dogs are. It's just a grind, and you gotta keep your head focused and do what you came there to do.Hicks had an outstanding two year run with the program, as he totaled 21.5 tackles for a lo s and 12 sacks in his final year with the program. His succe s at the program led to Kelvin Herrera Jersey some interest from FBS schools, and he ultimately decided to enroll at UTSA. I asked Hicks why he decided to play at UTSA over the other schools that pursued him:It was a crazy, crazy time. Basically, I had an offer from East Carolina University. Rod Wright (who is now at UTSA) and the entire coaching staff at ECU got fired. He told me, "I'm going to be going to another school but wherever I go, I'm going to keep in touch with you."He seemed like a real dude, so I always kept in touch with him. Having 12 sacks that season, I was waiting on something big to come. I was just waiting and waiting and all these schools came back and said I looked too small to be a defensive end. They just had a lot of doubts about me. I was supposed to sign in February of 2019, but I didn't sign at UTSA until July. I reached back out to (Rod Wright) around that time, and he brought me in and we were able to get something done. Hicks took some time to hit his stride with the program, but finally broke out in 2021. He finished the year with 16.5 tackles for a lo s, 10.5 sacks, and one interception as UTSA reached ranked status for the first time in the program's history. For his play this past year, Hicks was named as a First-Team All C-USA selection.While Hicks' play this past season was phenomenal Tim Anderson Jersey , it was a ma sive jump from his previous two years in the stat column. In his first two years with the team, he totaled 15 tackles for a lo s and just two sacks in 21 games played. I asked Hicks what factors led to the uptick in production during his final year:Well, my first year at UTSA, I was still adjusting, and moving to linebacker. I just didn't play a lot until the last six games. That season was really like a learning season for me. My coach told me straight up, if you want to go to the NFL, you can't play defensive end. In the 2020 season, I went to another position, which was more like a nickel. I was still not really familiar with coverages and concepts at that point. There are so many small things that you have to be able to pick up on to make plays. I feel like I could have been a little more focused with those things to help my game.That season was crazy too, because I led the conference in quarterback pre sure rate, but I had zero sacks. I mi sed, like, 8+ sacks that year. I was known as the "sack-mi ser" on the team. It was a humbling season, because I'm a guy that relies a lot on my ability. When I was mi sing all of those sacks, I knew I had to change some things up. The whole offseason (the coaches) were telling me to work on my hips. I took this last offseason very very serious. I worked a lot on finishing plays and I studied a lot on defensive coverages and tendencies to help myself a lot in coverage. That extra work really helped me have a big year this past year.As someone that has evaluated players for a few years now, I have learned that sack production is fairly overrated, while pre James McCann Jersey sure rate/production is underrated. If a pa s rusher is creating pre sure, eventually the sacks will come (which is what happened for Hicks in 2021).Still, you would like for players to finish opportunities when they have them. I asked him about how the conversations were with coaches during that year. Were they positive because he was creating pre sure, or negative because he wasn't producing sacks?Scroll to ContinueThe way my coaches were, they expect the best out of me. As one of the best players, they need me to step up. I was pretty down on myself for all of 2020, but I knew what I had to do and what I had to work on. They weren't really getting on me too Welington Castillo Jersey much, but there was a mutual understanding that I have to make those plays. Having a whole eight months without football and having that on your mind definitely motivates you. Hicks is an interesting projection to the NFL. He played defensive end at the JUCO level and was very productive. He made the switch to more of a linebacker/nickel position at UTSA, but was still really productive rushing the pa ser. With him being a bit of a tweener in this draft cycle, I asked Hicks where his best fit is in the NFL:That is where I feel like I stand out to these teams. I'm very very versatile. You'll see me at DE on third downs and then on the next series you will see me in man coverage on a number two receiver. I am 225 pounds and my backups at my position are 190 and 180. That should tell you about how they played me at UTSA (laughs). I think, with me, I can adjust to anything. I like to learn and pick up on new things and then I let my athletic ability do the rest. Most people have said WILL (weak-side linebacker), but wherever they need me to play, I can get the job done. I rarely, if ever, give advice to these players. While I have been around the game for a few years, I would never act like I know enough to help these players in the league. However, I did bring up special teams after this. I told Hicks that most of the players that I have seen break the "tweener" mold in the NFL have been players that start as great special teams players. I then asked him how comfortable he would be in a role that saw him mostly playing on special teams in the NFL (at least early on):I (special) teams. I actually played a lot of special teams in high school, but not a ton in college or at JUCO. The way JUCO is, they don't really have starters on special teams. At UTSA, I played a lot of punt return and kick-off Danny Mendick Jersey when it wasn't a big game or anything. I love special teams, though, and would love to play more of it in the NFL.I finished off the interview with the same way I finish all of them. I asked Hicks how he would sell himself to a team this offseason. I asked him what my team would be getting, on and off the field, if they draft him: Off the field, you are getting somebody that is never in any trouble, and you never have to worry about that kind of thing. On the field, you are getting somebody that is going to make a play, and is going to give his all on every single play. You are getting somebody that is going to li