LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio – It was a big night for Ohio State class of 2022 commit CJ Hicks on the field on Friday night as he and his Archbishop Alter Knights avenged an early-season loss to Badin high school in the Ohio regional semifinals with a big 20-3 win.

Badin knew all about what Hicks could do on defense but had no answer for him on offense when Hicks hauled in and ran for a 70-yard score to put Alter up 7-0, and Hicks’ team never looked back after that point as the Alter defense was stout, even if Badin did everything in its power to keep the ball away from Hicks at all costs.

“It feels really good to shut them down to just three points and get this (win).” Hicks said after the game.

It felt extra sweet getting that touchdown in such a big game, a play that had been drawn up for a while.

“We were going to do it last week against Trotwood, but we really did not need to (because) it was 42-0,” Hicks added.

70-yards later, Hicks was celebrating in the end zone and his team was up.

Will the defensive coaches have to keep Brian Hartline away from Hicks when he arrives on campus?

“I just want to play football, I don’t care where I play,” Hicks joked.

Hicks has made just as much news off the field as on it as he has been a ringleader of the Ohio State recruiting class for 2022. He and his fellow commits have put Ohio State’s fanbase on the edge of their seats by saying that some big things are coming down the pipe.

Any insights as to what’s up?

“Stay tuned for like the next two, three weeks,” Hicks said cryptically. “That’s all I am going to say.”

A lot of big names have been associated with this Ohio State recruiting class, and there are few names bigger than Hicks, who checks in as the nation’s No. 4 player in the entire class according to Rivals.com.

While fans are left wondering who/when/how many recruits could be coming, it is a pretty simple pitch that Hicks delivers to potential commits when they talk to him about his own personal Ohio State decision.

“(I picked Ohio State because) I wanted to be great. It’s Ohio State. Who wouldn’t want to go to Ohio State, it’s BIA (Best In America),” Hicks said.

Check out what else he had to say during his postgame interview and keep it locked in here at BuckeyeGrove.com as we will have some highlights and more from Hicks’ evening of work.