Bernard Hicks

The Cal Bears' football recruiting efforts for the defensive backfield will be on display this season as a crop of young defensive backs recruited by Cal head coach Jeff Tedford and his staff step in and take over at the safety positions and see playing time in nickel formations against passing situations.

One of the new starters will be redshirt sophomore-to-be Bernard Hicks, a bruising 6-0/203 rover/free safety from Edison High School in Fresno.

The Bears had big plans for Hicks when he came in, but he suffered a setback with a painful knee injury during his freshman season that took the better part of two years to heal. The pain is apparently over now for Hicks, who went through extensive rehab to get his knee back to full strength.

"Everything's healthy," said Hicks. "My knee's back to full strength and everything's going good."

Hicks' health is apparent, as he has been busy this spring laying devastating hits on receivers or running backs who dare to venture into his territory. Hicks also brings an element of cover-corner ability to his safety position, an ingredient often lacking in big-hitting safeties. This quality is especially valued by Cal head coach Jeff Tedford who makes no secret of his desire to have defensive backs who have the coverage ability to play the corners - and the hitting ability to play up the middle.

"Our defense will pretty much be the same style this year," said Hicks. "Maybe a few techniques will change based on whatever coach (new defensive backs Coach Todd Littlejohn) brings in. But we're still running the same drills and playing similar coverages - and we still have coach Gregory (Cal's defensive coordinator)."

The loss of defensive backs coach J. D. Williams came hard for Hicks this last month. A strong bond had been established between the two fellow Edison High grads during the recruiting process that continued through his first two seasons at Cal.

"I had committed to Washington State during my senior season in high school," said Hicks, "but coach Williams continued to be there for me and let me know that he and Cal would always be an option for me if my plans changed. I kind of began to feel like Cal was a second home to me, so when I reconsidered, Coach J. D. was real happy to have me at Cal."

Even after the loss of coach Williams, it was pretty much business as usual this spring with defensive coordinator Bob Gregory filling in after Williams' departure.

"Oh, Coach Gregory is definitely active out there," laughed Hicks. "Yeah, I love him, man. It's been real good. He's pretty hyper out there. You gotta love him. Being a former DB coach, it's been pretty natural out there for him. We haven't missed a beat."

Hicks said that he would likely play both rover and free safety depending on the coverage that was called, playing alongside fellow safeties junior Thomas DeCoud and redshirt sophomore Brandon Hampton. Redshirt freshman Robert Peele will also likely be in the mix after making a move this spring from corner to safety in an effort to put his talent to use. Cal is deep at the corner position, so the move may help Peele get some playing time.

Hicks has also excelled in the classroom, a fact that's brought him great satisfaction.

"The transition academically at Cal's been great," said Hicks, smiling. "In high school, I wasn't the greatest student. I had like a 2.8 GPA and I didn't always work that hard. But I've got a 3.2 now at Cal and it's going really good. The staff offers excellent support for us, too."

After the surprise in the classroom, we asked if it was a surprise to Hicks when he got the starting nod after all he'd been through with his injury and subsequent rehabilitation the last two years.

"Yeah, it kind of was a surprise, but I'm real excited and I try to go all out on every play on the field," he exclaimed.

Hick's talent and enthusiasm on display this spring provide evidence that Hicks has been successful in meeting his objectives at Cal.

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