It would be understandable if Hawaii football player Kalen Hicks felt like the guy who fed the slot machine only to see somebody else win the jackpot.
Through four seasons — from paying his way as a non-scholarship student for two years to his role as a starting safety — Hicks has been part of the growth of the Rainbow Warriors under head coach Nick Rolovich.
But Hicks will not be a participant in the Warriors’ most significant day in eight years of Mountain West membership: Saturday’s title game against Boise State. In a Thanksgiving Day tweet, Hicks announced his “senior season ended early due to injury.”
Hicks has revised his prognosis and is hopeful of returning for the Warriors’ bowl game later this month. But Hicks acknowledged he will miss his seventh consecutive game this weekend.
“It definitely sucks not being out there, but everything is bigger than you,” said Hicks, who still leads the Warriors in tackles per game with 6.0.
Hicks suffered the hamstring injury against Air Force on Oct. 19. “When I first heard about it,” he said of the initial diagnosis, “it was a bummer.”
But Hicks refused to sulk. “It’s all about being positive,” he said. “It’s all a mind-set. It’s the way you look at things. That’s what I do. Control what you can control.”
Hicks was determined to contribute. He attends meetings, video sessions and practices while working on his rehabilitation.
“I’m still part of this,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to completely clock out. It’s good to definitely have my input. I know a lot of the young guys still need guidance. It’s good to just help them out. It’s crazy. They look up to you, but you don’t even know it until you look from the outside perspective. I was always looking from the face mask out. Now it’s like looking into the face mask. You tell your teammates whatever, and they soak it all in.”
Rolovich said Hicks is “a supportive teammate. He’s here at practice. He’s very well respected. He’s going to be a success in life.”
Hicks, who grew up in Las Vegas, is familiar with adversity. He was set to become a prominent defensive player for high school powerhouse Bishop Gorman in 2015. But he suffered a knee injury the week before the opener and did not play his senior season. With that, the Division I offers evaporated.
“His bad timing in high school with his injury was our blessing,” Rolovich said.
During his freshman season, Hicks suffered an ACL injury. Because he had played in three games that were all after the first six-game window, Hicks was not eligible to redshirt that season under the NCAA rules at that time. But he worked his way back, and played in all 26 games the next two years and the first seven this season.
“I felt I played my role and did what I could to help this team strive to be better,” Hicks said. “I’m happy for the team. I always have a positive outlook. I’m just really glad that we got to this phase and goals as a team. When I first came here as a freshman (in 2016) there were a lot of different mind-sets around. We weren’t having the best record. But this is the best record (9-4) since I’ve been here, and I’ve only been part of half the record. It’s been a great experience. I’m glad. I’m proud of this team.”
