Oct. 23, 2006
While growing up, at first, football did not seem like an option for Chris Hicks.
Hicks, a senior punter for Samford, has a heart condition called Aortic stenosis. The condition is defined as a heart valve disorder that narrows or obstructs the aortic valve opening.
For Hicks, the condition kept him from playing football, until, in his seventh-grade year, Hicks saw the punter on his middle school team and thought punting might be a way he could be a part of the team.
"I went to my doctor and he said I could kick a football if I was able to," Hicks said. "I went out for the team my eighth-grade year and had a really good year."
The next year, Hicks played the first game of the season on the junior varsity team, but was moved up to varsity team for the rest of the season.
"My high school coach asked me to come out that next year (ninth grade)," Hicks said. "I played varsity my freshman year and I have never looked back since."
Hicks, a native of Calhoun, Ga., went on to have a stellar career at Calhoun High School. He set school records for touchbacks in a season (42), longest field goal (49 yards) and longest punt (73 yards).
As a senior in 2002, Hicks made 9-of-13 field goals and 43-of-46 extra points, as he served as both the punter and place-kicker. Hicks also averaged 42.7 yards per punt that season.
Hicks considered staying closer to home and attending Georgia Tech for college, but a visit from a Samford coach convinced him to at least take a look at coming to Samford.
"Probably a week or two before signing day (former) Coach (Rory) Segrest came to my house and just sat down and said `we'd like to have you at Samford," Hicks said. "So, I came here and just fell in love with the coaches, the environment, the beautiful campus and all the nice people. I thought it would be the best place to come and make a difference on a team that really needed a punter."
As a freshman in 2003, the coaches had originally planned on redshirting Hicks, but midway through the season, the coaches decided they needed Hicks to step in and contribute in his first season.
In the sixth game of the season against Murray State, Hicks saw his first collegiate action, punting eight times for an average of 42.1 yards per kick. Hicks was named the Ohio Valley Conference's Specialist of the Week for his efforts.
"I just came in and tried to make a difference," Hicks said of the experience. "I had a good year and it was a great experience."
Ever since that first game as a freshman, Hicks has been the team's punter. Coming into this week's game, Hicks has punted 188 times for an average of 40.7 yards per kick in his Samford career. He has placed 65 kicks inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
As a senior, Hicks is having a strong season, averaging 41.6 yards on 38 punts through the first seven games of the season. He has been named the OVC's Specialist of the Week twice so far this season. He averaged 46.3 yards on nine punts at Georgia Tech on Sept. 9, winning the award for that week. He earned the honor for a second time in last week's 33-7 win at Murray State, as he punted five times for an average of 40.2 yards per kick and placing two punts inside the Murray State 20-yard line.
As he nears the end of his Samford career, Hicks said he feels like he made the right decision in attending the Homewood school.
"If I could do it over, I wouldn't change a thing," Hicks said. "I think it has really been for the best, and I love working with (kicking) Coach (Ron) Jones. He is a blessing. All of the coaches here really understand our position."
