Sophomore CB has been 'one of the shining stars' for Texas A&M this preseason
Coach Mike Elko will now be calling defensive plays, and knowing his background coaching the secondary, this group shouldn't be a unit opposing teams looking forward to testing through the air.
While Will Lee is seen as the most dependable veteran on the roster, Ricks has been hard at work during the preseason. After the Aggies' 16th preseason practice on Tuesday, the former five-star prospect spoke to the media for the first time this year, finally providing insight on why he chose Texas A&M after transferring from Alabama, stating that his familiarity with defensive coordinator Jay Bateman sealed the deal.
Bateman, who had a big part in landing Ricks from the portal, revealed on Tuesday that Ricks played over 650-plus snaps during his redshirt freshman season in 2024, which is exceptionally challenging for any young player. Still, his improvement this month has been nothing short of impressive, calling him "one of the shining stars" during the preseason.
At wide receiver, Elko, OC Collin Klein, and WR Holmon Wiggins deserve the credit for landing KC Concepcion and Mario Craver from the transfer portal. At the same time, sophomore Ashton Bethel-Roman has been another "shining star" due to his elite speed and fluid route running. Ricks, who has covered all three players in practice, is excited to see just how good Texas A&M's passing game can be, knowing the talent level has dramatically increased.
"KC (Concepcion), he's really good, how he runs routes, Mario Craver, real twitchy guy, Ashton Bethel-Roman, a lot of speed, he can stretch the field."
Elko and Bateman's trust in Ricks shouldn't be surprising to anyone knowing his talent level, while his 6'1", 188-pound frame, length, and impressive speed make him one of the top candidates to improve significantly, and is still on track to earn one of the two starting outside corner spots.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
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