Louisville football: Robert Hicks removes name from transfer portal

The Louisville football program got a welcomed boost Thursday as linebacker Robert Hicks removed his name from the  NCAA transfer portal.

Just over two weeks ago in the beginning days of April, it was reported that rising and promising Louisville football freshman defensive standout, Robert Hicks had put his name in the NCAA Transfer portal. It was a heavy blow that neither this UofL football program could afford, nor the fans of Cardnation wanted to hear.

Hicks, a coveted former four star LB prospect, led his Miami Central HS team to a state title and was recruited by co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Cort Dennison. While the 2018 Cardinal football season was one to forget, Hicks was one of the lone bright spots to many fans.

As a freshman Hicks saw significant playing time where he appeared in 9 games. He recorded 24 tackles in this 9 games and 2 tackles for loss. He managed to earn a starting spot at LB against Western Kentucky where he lead the team in tackles with 11.

With the regime change of Scott Satterfield being named head coach and a new defensive staff in place, it was announced shortly after early workouts that Hicks (aka Hicks Sticks) was being moved from LB to DE.

A head-scratcher to many fans, Hicks seemed to take it in stride. Early reports in spring ball indicated that Hicks was open to the position change, was excelling at defensive end, and was in position to start at one of the DE spots come this Summer.

Somewhere along the way though either those reports were factually exaggerated, or Hicks had a change of heart and wasn’t on board with the position change. He had decided that he wanted to seek new opportunities and would enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Well it appears there’s possibly been a change of by Hicks and/or the UofL staff. We at Big Red Louie learned today that Hicks had not only removed his name from the NCAA transfer portal, but was coming back to play linebacker.

This isn’t just big news for a Louisville football program who clearly is lacking depth and play-makers, but it’s bigger news for the perception of the program nationally. Whatever transpired in the last two weeks is a win for the Louisville football program. Hicks is too good of a player to let him just walk. As he’s only getting ready to finish his Freshman year, he’s likely to be one of the budding stars for this Cardinal defense for years to come.

It may be overcast with rain likely in Louisville today, but it’s certainly more sunshine and smiles in that UofL locker room and Cardnation is here for it!

Going forward, Louisville football will need more good news like this. The Cards have five high-level D1 linebackers in the fold to help anchor a young defense, but they still need to improve depth.

The addition of Hicks, however, is a sign of exciting things to come.