By Garrett Kroeger
The Natchez Democrat

PORT GIBSON — When a recruit is deciding between colleges, the pick is typically challenging. Yet for Port Gibson senior quarterback D’Marious Hicks, the choice to go to Alcorn State was easy.

“Three days after I received the offer, I told the coaches I was all in,” Hicks said.

The offer was from Alcorn State. Hicks decided he wanted to be a Brave on June 9 and officially announced his commitment on his Twitter account earlier this week.

Hicks — who received interest from the Southern Miss, Ole Miss and Mississippi State — said he decided to commit to Alcorn for family reasons. He’d also dreamt about being a Brave and playing just down the road in Lorman ever since he was little.

“It was great, especially coming from Port Gibson,” Hicks said. “I really wanted to attend Alcorn. I grew up 15 minutes away. I grew up attending games. It’s just something I wanted to do ever since I was young. So I got the opportunity to do so, and I wasted no time committing. Alcorn is my dream school.”

While Hicks’ athletic ability caught the eye of college coaches in Mississippi, he’d started to attract the attention of coaches around the country as well. He’s ranked as the No. 36 prospect in Mississippi according to 247Sports.

During his junior year, Hicks started at quarterback and returned kickoffs and punts for the Blue Waves, leading them to a 9-4 record — their first winning record since 2012 — and to the third round of the MHSAA Class 3A playoffs for the first time since 1988. Port Gibson hadn’t won a playoff game since 1990.

As a quarterback, Hicks threw for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns, and ran for 1,087 yards on 92 carries. He averaged 11.8 yards per carry. He caught 12 passes for 244 yards as well. Hicks had 21 total touchdowns.

Although Hicks played quarterback at Port Gibson, he is expected to play slot receiver in college. Hicks runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash.

“As an athlete, I feel like I can play every skill position on the field,” Hicks said. “But I believe I will play slot receiver and become a return man.”

With his college recruitment over, Hicks said he can focus on preparing himself for his last season with the Blue Waves. Yet, some people around him have questioned his early commitment.

“I had people telling me I shouldn’t have done it,” Hicks said. “But I made a decision off of how I felt.”

Hicks said he felt committing now will allow his family to see him play out his dream.

“It’s exciting, man,” Hicks said. “Knowing that they will be able to make every game, I just can’t put it into words. I’m just happy that they can attend games at Alcorn and be there to watch someone that they are proud of.”