Eagles LB Hicks, Lakota West grad eager for special Cincinnati homecoming

Jordan Hicks doesn’t know how things are going to play out Sunday afternoon when he and his Philadelphia Eagles teammates take on the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium, but the Lakota West High School graduate is certain of one thing:

It will be one of the most memorable games he’ll ever play.

“It’s going to be special,” Hicks said. “It’s going to be special. I haven’t played here since high school, so a lot of people that have wanted to see me play at Texas or in Philly but weren’t able to will have the chance. And that always means a lot when family and friends can come see you play.

“You want to perform well every game, but when they’re in the stands watching, it’s a special moment. Not only for you, for them,” Hicks added. “And that just makes you want to perform that much more. So it will be fun. It’ll be exciting.”

Hicks was giving his teammates and coaches dining suggestions after the team arrived in Cincinnati on Saturday.

“A few of them are going to Montgomery Inn, and I told a couple of the coaches who are Italians they have to go to LaRosa’s because you can’t get anything better than freakin’ LaRosa’s pizza,” he said.

As for his own palate, he had one request.

“My mom’s bringing me some Grippo’s Bar-B-Q chips,” he said. “I had to have them.”

Hicks said he received 27 requests for family passes, which enable people to come to field level after the game to catch up with him after he gets out of the locker room. And one of those passes will be hanging around the neck of Lakota West football coach Larry Cox.

“It’s a neat deal, obviously, and something I’m really looking forward to,” said Cox, who in August made the trip to Indianapolis to see Hicks play a preseason game against the Colts and former Lakota West teammate Ryan Kelly.

“We both got to see coach after the game, which was nice,” Hicks said. “That was the first time he had seen me play since high school.”

After graduating from West, Hicks spent five years at the University of Texas, where he appeared in 45 games with 28 starts despite suffering a pair of season-ending injuries.

His junior year he tore his hip abductor in the fourth game and was granted a medical redshirt. The following year he was leading the Longhorns in tackles when he tore his Achilles in the fourth game.

Hicks fought through another grueling rehab process and returned to the field for his senior season, where he started all 13 games and was named a second team All-American.

The Eagles drafted him in the third round of the 2015 draft, and he eventually won the starting job in the fourth week of the season. But in a Week 8 game at Dallas, he suffered a season-ending torn pectoral muscle.

“That one was really tough,” Hicks said. “I felt like I was just getting my feet under me and starting to play well.”

He wasn’t just playing well, he was making a case to be considered for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award. At the time of the injury led all rookies with seven impact plays (two interceptions, one sack, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries).

One of those interceptions came just a few minutes before he tore his pectoral muscle. Hicks returned the ball 67 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 21-14 lead in a game they would eventually win 33-27 in overtime.

The Eagles went 3-5 down the stretch and missed the playoffs, but Hicks made it through another successful rehab and was back to a 100 percent by February. He’s started all 11 games for the Eagles this year and is second on the team with 62 tackles.

“I’m proud as heck of him for what he’s battled through,” Cox said. “What it takes to get there is such a huge accomplishment. Everybody thinks it says a bunch about his athleticism, I think it says more about his character and competitiveness and commitment to the future. He’s worked through every adversity he’s ever faced.”

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