A month after re-classifying from the 2026 recruiting class, Carrollton (Ga.) safety Zelus Hicks will sign with the Texas Longhorns on Early Signing Day after an unexpected delay as the Auburn Tigers, Colorado Buffaloes, and Tennessee Volunteers all paid late runs at Hicks, who made the announcement on lnstagram Live.
2025 Carrollton (Ga.) DB Zelus Hicks is sticking with #Texas and will sign with the Longhorns.
The 6’2, 190-pounder chose Texas after making two trips to the Forty Acres this year, one in the spring and one in the summer. A national prospect, Hicks holds more than 30 offers, including Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, and Washington.
“Things moved quickly with Texas. They came out in the spring and offered, they came heavy after me, and after that visit, I felt great about Texas. I liked the school, I meshed with coach Blake Gideon, they just kept applying pressure like no other school and I made my decision,” Hicks told On3 when he pledged.
“They tell me I am No. 1 on their board and they are No. 1 on my board, so it is a perfect match. Me and my dad have been talking about it and I made my decision earlier this week.”
When Hicks committed, he was ranked as the No. 25 prospect nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and as the No. 3 safety and the No. 5 player in Georgia. But after re-classifying, he’s dropped in the rankings, down to a consensus four-star rating as the No. 209 player nationally and the No. 16 safety.
When Hicks re-classified, he was an important addition to a secondary class that only featured the commitment of Galveston Ball superstar Jonah Williams. Since then, the Horns had added top-100 prospects in Graceson Littleton and Kade Phillips, who flipped back to Texas from LSU on Tuesday.
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Before transferring to Carrollton, Hicks had an impressive sophomore season at Parkview in the Atlanta metro area, recording 67 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two passes broken up, and two forced fumbles.
