Ben Hicks is an American former

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He played for the

SMU Mustangs The SMU Mustangs are the sport, athletic teams that represent Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, United States. SMU was founded in 1911 and joined the Southwest Conference, competing against Baylor Bears, Baylor, Rice Owls, ...

and

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

High school career

Hicks attended Midway High School in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

. As a senior he threw for over 3,400 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was invited to the

Elite 11 Elite 11 is a quarterback competition for high school quarterbacks. Elite 11 was founded in 1999 by Andy Bark and is run by his company Student Sports. Rising seniors participate in the contest. The quarterbacks submit videos of themselves pla ...

, where he finished with a high rank among the other participants. A four-star recruit, Hicks was once committed to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, before he flipped his commitment to play at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

College career

SMU

After redshirting in 2015, Hicks started 11 games in 2016, after an injury to Matt Davis in the season opener. He finished his redshirt freshman season passing for 2,930 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. In 2017, he passed for 3,569 yards and 33 touchdowns. At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Hicks announced his decision to transfer. Hicks finished his time at SMU totaling 9,081 yards, 71 touchdowns, and 34 interceptions. He is the program's leader in career passing yards.

Arkansas

Hicks transferred to the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, reuniting with his former coach,

Chad Morris Chad Allen Morris (born December 4, 1968) is an American football coach who was most recently the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Texas State University. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University ...

. Entering the 2019 season opener against

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

, Hicks was named the Razorback's starting quarterback. In his first start with Arkansas, he completed 14 of 29 passes for 143 yards, in a 20–13 win. After struggling the following week against

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

, Hicks was benched in favor of

Nick Starkel Nicholas Starkel (born February 24, 1998) is an American former college football quarterback who played at Texas A&M University, the University of Arkansas, and San Jose State University. Early life Starkel was born in Pittsburgh to Wendy and ...

. He finished the season throwing for 738 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Hicks finished his career throwing for 9,819 yards, 73 touchdowns, and 36 interceptions.

Statistics

References

External links

Arkansas Razorbacks bioSMU Mustangs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Ben Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American football quarterbacks SMU Mustangs football players Arkansas Razorbacks football players Players of American football from Waco, Texas