This isn’t your traditional recruiting victory article, but it is a bit of a fun one. Preston Hickey, a 2022 defensive lineman from Mandeville, Louisiana, is a walk on-prospect being pursued by some impressive programs. One of these programs was Alabama, who he had actually committed to previously to walk on at.
Well, after visiting OSU this past week, he has changed his mind and will actually be playing his football in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as he announced yesterday on Twitter.
No, we are not hyping this up as flipping a 5-star or blue chip recruit, but on the surface, it still points to good things.
Oklahoma State and Alabama were trying to land a prospect on a level playing ground, only offering him an opportunity to play football at the power five level. Hickey visited both campuses several times from the summertime till now. One interesting note to point out is that Alabama’s out-of-state- tuition is actually roughly $10K cheaper than Oklahoma State’s.
To me, that stands out a bit and just shows you the culture and the attitude that is in the West End Zone right now. They are an exciting place to play right now, even for a kid and his family having to pay out of pocket.
It is also noteworthy of pointing out that the drive from Mandeville, Louisiana, to Stillwater is roughly 12 hours while the drive to Tuscaloosa is only four hours. Again, something about that stands out to me.
Hickey is 6’2 290 pounds and is listed as playing both end and interior defensive lineman. At 270 pounds, Hickey is reported to have a 4.9 forty-yard dash, bench presses 365 pounds and squats 500 pounds.
During his high school career, Hickey was named All-District, All-Parish, All-Metro, and All-State.
Oklahoma State has long had a rich tradition among their walk-ons which very possibly could have played a factor in Hickey’s decision to play football here. Quite often, the walk-ons that come into the Cowboys program and do things the right way, end up on scholarship within a few years.
I’m sure the opportunity to be put on scholarship down the line was a topic of discussion while on his visit.
