Notre Dame offers Northwest 2019 four-star DE Marcus Hicks

Marcus Hicks was quiet for most of the road trip to South Bend on Saturday, still somber from Northwest’s season-ending loss to Derby the previous night in the Class 6A semifinals.

Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly made Hicks, a four-star defensive end prospect and junior at Northwest, forget about all of that on Saturday morning by offering Hicks a full-ride scholarship before No. 8 Notre Dame’s game against Navy.

Kelvin Hicks, Marcus’ father, said it was a surreal moment when Kelly asked to see them in his office. Notre Dame is the 10th Division I program to offer Hicks, joining Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa, Kansas, and Toledo.

“I don’t even have words right now,” Kelvin Hicks said. “This is a dream. I’m pretty much speechless. Not just having the chance to be apart of this tradition, but you also think what a degree from Notre Dame can do for you. I’m so happy for Marcus right now and this shows how his hard work is paying off.”

Marcus Hicks has made it clear that academics will be a factor in his final decision, which isn’t expected until his senior season.

The father and son duo had visited Notre Dame in June for an unofficial visit and came away impressed. The second time back was even better.

“Coach Kelly told him how Marcus would be a great fit here as a pass-rushing defensive end and he would be a great fit in their system,” Kelvin Hicks said. “He said (Marcus) is a really hard worker and he knows that (Marcus) is going to work even harder with an offer from Notre Dame.”

Hicks finished his junior campaign with 63 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 11 games.

This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Notre Dame offers Northwest 2019 four-star DE Marcus Hicks."