Four-star linebacker Brandon Hicks (6-2, 205, 4.6), from Jacksonville Nathan Bedford Forrest (Fla.), denies a leader, but favors Miami, LSU, Florida, Clemson, Nebraska and Florida State. All of his favorites have offered plus several others. Hicks will be visiting Florida on December 9 and is expecting an in-home visit from the Gators this Thursday (December 7).
"Florida had a great season and I think they deserve to be playing for the national championship," said Hicks, ranked as the No. 11 linebacker by Scout.com.
Gator rival Florida State visited Hicks at home last week. "They sent like five coaches over," Hicks said. "They've been coming at me really hard recently. I know they had a disappointing season, but every team has its ups and downs. You can never tell. For me it's about the players that go there and the type of program they run. I talked to the coaches and they have a lot of interesting plans to improve both their offense and defense. They should be a lot better next year."
Another Florida school that he is considering is Miami, so how will coach Larry Coker's firing affect Hicks? "It isn't a big factor," Hicks said. "I don’t want to choose a school based on how I feel about the coaches. Miami is cool and I like the players a lot. It's still a good program and they are never down too long."
Hicks' lone official visit was to Nebraska on November 24. "I love the coaches," Hicks said. "They really showed me a lot about the school and the program and just seemed real. They have a great program and I also really liked hanging out with the players."
His player host in Lincoln was junior wide receiver Frantz Hardy. "We hung out a lot," Hicks said. "We went bowling and also had a little Madden tournament. There were like 10 of us playing, but the games were taking so long we couldn't finish. It was just a real fun visit."
Hicks says he plans to decide by the end of January. "I just want to take my official visits and see how I feel afterward," Hicks said.
His team finished the year with a 5-5 record, with Hicks racking up 40 tackles, nine sacks and three interceptions (one returned for a score). Offensively, he had four touchdowns receiving.
Hicks reports a 2.5 core GPA and a 770 SAT (new version) and is waiting on his ACT results. "My GPA has already improved," Hicks said. "I'll probably have a 2.7 by the end of the year and I'm also taking a night class to help my grades."