Star LB Recruit Jordan Hicks To Appear In Burnt Orange, Chooses Texas

Though Hicks hasn’t officially announced his choice, SB Nation’s Burnt Orange Nation says it’s a done deal--Hicks will be a Longhorn. Reports have been all over Twitter, and it all seems pretty accurate, prompting the following reaction from Burnt Orange Nation’s Peter Bean: “Amazing, Unbelievable. Awesome.” Seems appropriate.

Bean mentions a number of factors that played a role in Hicks’ decision. First off, he reportedly disappointed that Florida Coach Urban Meyer did not accompany his Gator assistants on an in-home recruiting visit to Hicks’ Ohio home. That, and Hicks’ family fell in love with Austin. His mother and sister will be moving there with him next him. Add those to the factors mentioned earlier--Texas’ similar scheme, and the friendship between his mother and Longhorn assistant Jeff Madden--and it’s not terribly surprising that Texas ultimately won Hicks’ heart.

So who are the favorites? He’s narrowed his list to three.

Texas. Hicks spent a reported three hours talking to Texas’ defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, and his high school runs a scheme that’s eerily similar to Muschamp’s much-ballyhooed attack at Texas. His mother, Kelly Justice, is also a good friend of Texas’ strength and conditioning coach, Jeff Madden, though she has stressed that the relationship will have no bearing on her son’s choice.