Masterful on field, just as notable off it
Cal defensive back Hicks helps others beat poverty
Having trouble finding a grassy field where he was allowed to train at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Cal defensive back Elijah Hicks settled for a concrete hill near the Berkeley campus.
Hicks set up cones in the street and used the steep incline to make all of his footwork drills and sprints even more difficult.
“I hate coming to this hill. That’s how I know I should be doing it,” Hicks said. “I hate it so much. You ain’t going to sit here and be like: ‘ I love this hill.’
“No, but I like the results.”
The results are in, and Hicks has emerged as an allconference candidate for the Bears. Rising from an innercity upbringing in Long Beach, he’s using his expertise in overcoming obstacles to help others find positive results during trying circumstances, and his efforts are gaining national attention.
Last week, the 5foot11, 200pound senior was named as one of 20 semifinalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year, which is given to the country’s best leader exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship. The winner, which will be announced Feb. 16, will receive a $ 10,000 contribution in his name to the school’s athletic scholarship fund.
In September, Hicks was one of only 11 Football Bowl Subdivision players named to the 22person Allstate American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. A total of 149 players were nominated for the squad that recognizes extraordinary efforts off the field.
“He’s used his platform in a tremendous way,” Cal quarterback Chase Garbers said. “Elijah Hicks is such a great guy. Not only is he a great player on the field, but he’s an overall great human being off the field. The work he’s put in is truly tremendous. … To have a catalyst like Elijah doing what he does, it definitely gives off energy to others.”
On schedule to earn his American studies degree from Cal next year, Hicks created his own nonprofit organization. The Intercept Poverty Foundation focuses on helping lowincome students.
The third oldest of 10 siblings, Hicks was talking to his father in March about children struggling to find food with schools shuttered, with many relying on free or reducedcost breakfasts and lunches. He teamed with the “No Kid Hungry” charity in hopes of raising $ 10,000 for the cause.
With the help of teammates Ashtyn Davis and Camryn Bynum, Oregon’s Jevon Holland, Washington’s Myles Bryant and Keith Taylor, and Utah’s Terrell Burgess, videos driven by Hicks’ data and heartfelt messages on the subject netted nearly $ 11,000 in a week. So, Hicks upped his goal to $ 20,000.
He ended up raising more than $ 60,000.
“We’ve just been spoiled with guys the past few years, and he’s another one. Elijah, what he’s done off the football field and the type of person he is, I’m just kind of in awe,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said.
“A lot needs to be done. I have a platform, and I need to find ways to give back.”
Elijah Hicks, Cal defensive back
“What he’s done here on campus and in the community, really on his own, he’s just a special guy. … He’s going to be very, very successful in whatever he does: football and beyond. He’s going to impact a lot of folks.”
Hicks was the fifth Cal player to earn a spot on the Good Works Team, joining Nick Forbes ( 2013), Jeffrey Coprich ( 2014), Patrick Laird ( 2018) and Marcel Dancy ( 2019). Those four are more than impressed by what Hicks is doing while juggling school and practice.
“He’s nothing short of amazing,” said Dancy, who was alongside Hicks when he produced a socialmedia message encouraging other students to vote in this month’s election. “He’s touching so many people.”
Hicks was a consistent volunteer at the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Center during the 2019 season. He worked restocking shifts at the food pantry once or twice per week.
He’s currently partnering with Scholarship America to establish an emergency fund for Cal students in need. In between, he prepared grocery bags to give to staff members in March and served as a guest speaker on a virtual webinar about volunteer work for the Pac12 Networks in June.
“I’m so fortunate to be at Cal and to be in a position to one day play in the NFL, but if I didn’t have as much help as I did or have as good of parents as I did, where would I be?” Hicks said in an interview with The Chronicle. “After a while, bad things can become normal, and you can become numb to certain things. But I understand that a lot of changes need to be made. A lot needs to be done. I have a platform, and I need to find ways to give back.”
Hicks grew up in Long Beach, which has a crime rate 1.2 times higher than the U. S. average, according to citydata.com. During years of shuttling between his mother on weekdays and his father on weekends, violent crime was rising all around him.
He went to La Mirada and St. John Bosco ( Bellflower) — high schools about 15 miles and multiple bus rides between his parents’ places. He said he saw guns, drugs and assorted crime, but he continued to “flow and act like everything was fine.”
Despite the trouble around him, Hicks succeeded on the field. As a senior, he had 1,001 allpurpose yards and 10 touchdowns and added 40 tackles and five interceptions to receive a fourstar recruit ranking.
Hicks chose Cal over the likes of Notre Dame, showing up on campus even when the university was between head coaches Sonny Dykes and Wilcox. Using a strong work ethic that produced steady improvement each of each first three seasons, Hicks earned preseason allconference recognition this year from Athlon and Phil Steele.
The ballhawking cover man and aggressive tackler, who moved from cornerback to safety this season, is tied with Daniel Scott for the team lead with 13 tackles in two games and intercepted a pass Saturday at Oregon State to set up a goahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
“Elijah is a great representative of what Cal football is and what it can be,” defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said. “As a player, he’s very talented. As a teammate in the locker room, people respect him. He’s respectful of other people. He’s a guy whose work ethic is the barometer of our players on defense.”
If a young player tells Sirmon that he has been working out with Hicks, Sirmon said the training is granted “instant credibility.”
Hicks was miked up during a recent practice. He talked about walking the fine line between being amped and executing assignments as he strutted through teammates and immediately drew their eyes and ears.
“The dude is a baller,” Scott said. “He’s got that grit in him, and you can tell that fire that he had at corner, he’s now bringing it back into safety. At safety, you can kind of go around and go crazy sometimes, so I think it suits him well.
“He offers at least a fraction of what he has and tries to bring it to everyone, and it makes are whole group stronger.” That’s his ultimate goal. After taking a series of classes in Cal’s esteemed Haas Business program, Hicks started thinking about creating his brand and understanding his window of influence. He’s writing a thesis paper about those who overcome innercity barriers and use those difficult circumstances as motivation.
“Maybe all of this it will make my teammates get their asses up and start doing something,” Hicks said, laughing. “Maybe it’ll inspire them to get up and help. That’s what I wanted to do. That’s what I want to do.
“I want everybody to say: ‘ Let me try to find a way to help.’ ”