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West football recruits keeping coach busy

Juniors Hicks, Smith, Neal among Firebirds getting college attention.

Alex Smith, Lakota West tight end.

Brandon Neal, Lakota West defensive back

Jordan Hicks, Lakota West linebacker

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By Steven Matthews, Staff Writer Updated 4:43 PM Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The college evaluation period is over, but that doesn’t mean the attention stops for Lakota West High’s football players.

While representatives from 75 college football programs visited West during the recent evaluation period, senior camps are on the schedule for the summer and as well as campus visits.

“It’s fun,” Firebirds coach Larry Cox said. “There’s energy. It’s fun to be around the program. The kids are excited about it.

“I’ve made relationships with coaches I’d probably never meet without these guys.”

Those “guys” include linebacker Jordan Hicks, tight end Alex Smith and defensive back Brandon Neal.

Hicks, at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, is the No. 1-rated outside LB in the country in his class according to Rivals.com, and the 16th prospect overall.

Hicks said Tuesday morning, June 9, that his list of 16 schools is trimmed down to six, and he is “very close” to revealing those schools.

“I kind of got them in my mind,” Hicks said, “but I’ve got to sit down with my mom (Kelly Justice) and see what she thinks.”

Hicks — who is seriously considering graduating early — said all he needs to take in the fall is a double block of English and two elective courses to graduate early, which would cause him to miss the basketball season.

“There’s always the opportunity I might graduate early,” Hicks said. “It all depends. If I graduate early, obviously I won’t be playing (basketball), but I’m still going to work out with them during the summer. I’m going to work out with them like I’m on the team. Nothing’s going to change this summer. It all depends next season if I decide to graduate early.”

• Smith (6-5, 250) committed to the University of Cincinnati back on Feb. 21 the same day offensive lineman Kevin Schloemer did.

But Smith said Tuesday that with recent offers from LSU, Penn State, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina and others coming in, he felt the need to open up the recruiting process again.

“I’m going to open it up to a few schools, make a few visits and make sure UC’s the best decision for me,” Smith said.

“I’ve gotten some new big-time offers, so I want to go out and see what they have to offer and take it all in.”

Smith has made visits to UC, Kentucky and Michigan, and hopes to visit schools in the South this summer, such as Miami, LSU and UNC.

• Neal (5-11, 165) has offers from Kent State, Toledo, Akron, Ohio, Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Buffalo.

“It’s a blast right now,” Neal said. “It’s been picking up a lot, especially the last few weeks. I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails and colleges calling me. It’s been a good experience so far.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.

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