Union football coach Jordan Wren got a call last year that Carlos Hickmon was going to be late for summer workouts.
Wren then proceeded to ask Hickmon why he was going to be late.
“I’ve got to help my granddad feed the hogs,” Hickman responded.
Wren said that conversation pretty much sums up Hickmon to a tee.
“He’s just a good old country kid,” Wren said. “He helps his grandpa just about every day. I know they have some hogs and some chickens. When he’s not here working he’s always at home working. There’s a stereotype about those kids and he definitely fits that stereotype. He’s probably the most physical (player) we have.”
Hickmon returns to Union for his senior season as a three-year starter on defense for the Yellowjackets, standing at 5-foot-7 and 185 pounds. Last year, Hickmon had 54.5 tackles, which was second on the team — just one shy of the team lead by Tristan Wallace.
“Carlos had a really big year for us,” Hickmon said. “I thought last year, for the entire football team, I thought that he was probably one of our best football players on the team. He carried on a lot of roles for us. He carried the football in times that we needed it and runs the ball very hard and defensively he plays the outside linebacker and he’s probably our most experienced player coming back.”
While playing outside linebacker, Hickmon would be considered undersized but Wren said the rising senior makes up for his lack of size with intelligence.
“ He’s a four year starter on defense,” Wren said. “He fills it really well when it’s coming to him. He’s athletic and he’s fast and he’s got some football IQ and he also plays a lot of special teams for us so he’s one of those kids it just seems like he never gets tired and that just comes from him coming to practice every single day and giving everything he’s got.”
Hickmon also got plenty of snaps on offense for the Yellowjackets last year, finishing second on the team with 734 yards on 151 carries.
“It will be more of the same on offense this season,” Wren said. “He probably will not be the predominate person taking the snaps at running back this year. I have a philosophy that your best athlete can’t be your best athlete if he’s always tired. And not that Carlos gets tired, but we like for our kids to be as fresh as possible and we like to maximize him as much as we can on defense and on special teams and then get him 10 or 12 snaps a night on offense.”
Hickmon said he knows he has some areas he needs to improve in for the upcoming season.
“I could have done better than I did last season,” Hickmon said. “I need to hold onto the football a little bit better. I just didn’t protect the ball like I should. I’ve got to be a good leader for the team and help the freshmen out. I think I’m more of a defensive player because I like to play downhill and I just like to hit people.”
Wren said Hickmon is a solid citizen and a hard worker, on and off the field.
“He’s a good kid,” Wren said. “What I’ve heard about Carlos in the classroom is that he may not understand it quick, but what he does is he gives everything he’s got and he works very hard and that goes a long way. I tell the kids all the time when I was in school I struggled with some stuff but what I figured out was this, if I will just be quiet, pay attention, ask the right questions and show the teacher that I care then good things end up happening. And I think that’s what Carlos does.”
Hickmon said when he’s not playing sports, he’s working on his grandfather’s farm. He said he also liked fishing and mud riding in his truck and four-wheeler.
