Oklahoma Sooners-bound Marcus Hicks isn’t your average Division I athlete

Marcus Hicks was always big for his age.

At 11, he played bass, the largest stringed instrument in the orchestra. He made it look like a large violin.

That size has helped Wichita Northwest’s Hicks become one of the top high school football prospects in the U.S. But this top-flight defensive end hasn’t lost that love for the fine arts.

“When I’m stressed out, I can do it whenever I feel like things are getting too much for me,” he said.

Hicks’ passions — fine arts and football — are polar opposites ... at first glance, anyway.

On Friday nights in the fall, Hicks could usually be found flying around the right side of the opponent’s offensive line, seeking and finding quarterbacks who are trying to stay out of sight of the 6-foot-6, 275-pound Grizzly.

Before Hicks’ senior season, he verbally committed to the University of Oklahoma. He held scholarship offers from some of the best football programs in the nation, including Ohio State, Texas and Florida.

Since his commitment, Hicks has racked up 77 tackles, seven sacks and 25 tackles for loss. And most importantly, he has helped Northwest reach its second state championship game in school history.

Two undefeated teams will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. as Northwest (12-0) takes on St. Thomas Aquinas (11-0) at Pittsburg State for the Kansas Class 5A state championship.

But even a few days before the school’s biggest football game in more than two decades, Hicks took some time to unwind. He sat in front of a keyboard, grabbed a guitar or filled up a blank piece of paper to allow his mind to drift away from football a bit.

“To me, if I focus too much on football, I’ll just drive myself crazy,” he said. “I know if I take a step back, breathe and do what I like doing in my free time, I’ll be fine.”

Music used to be more than a hobby for Hicks. He learned from one of the top bassists in Wichita, Mark Foley. Foley plays in the Wichita Orchestra and has taught at Wichita State since 1989.

He has instructed hundreds if not thousands of students, including Hicks when he was in middle school.

“I knew he was going to be famous in some way or form, and sure enough,” Foley said. “There was just something about him. He had a really amazing work ethic. He just a really good understanding. He was willing to try always. I think the biggest thing was just the family support.

“It was inspiring.”

Foley said he doesn’t teach many high-profile athletes, though fine arts, such as music, and sports are much more alike than they are different.

“There’s a lot of athlete allegory that I get into in my teaching,” Foley said. “I tell them to, ‘Be a jock about your instrument.’ You’ve got to practice every day. You have to keep your body in tune with your instrument as far as muscles that you’re always developing. Marcus, as a young athlete, he had that in spades for sure.”

The fine arts have become a secondary passion for Hicks as football has helped define his present and future. But just because not many other Division I defensive ends strum guitars doesn’t mean that Hicks won’t.

For Hicks, musical pursuits give him something that’s hard to find on a football field.

“The feeling of being calm, when there’s no distractions,” he said. “I can just sit there and play.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2018 at 1:38 PM.