State's top-ranked football recruit picks Indiana: 'It just felt like home'

Indianapolis Star

25-04-2025

When Bo Polston talks about there being 'something different' about Kasmir Hicks, the Decatur Central quarterback can speak from experience.
Polston and Hicks, both juniors, have been playing with and against each other going back to kindergarten in the Decatur Central youth program. In the championship game when they were in fourth grade, Polston's team played against Hicks' team.
'The score was like 56 to 55,' Polston said. 'It was me and him, just back and forth. But he ended up getting the ball last. So, he won. When he has the ball in his hands or he's guarding the best player, special things happen.'
That was true of Hicks in grade school, middle school and high school. IU believes it can be in college, too. The 6-foot, 180-pound speedster, ranked as the No. 1 player in the state in the 2026 class by On3sports, announced his commitment to Indiana on Friday, picking the Hoosiers over Cincinnati, Louisville, Missouri and Vanderbilt. In addition to those schools, Hicks also had offers from Illinois, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford and Wisconsin and several Mid-American Conference programs.
'Home was just IU,' Hicks said. 'It was just different. It wasn't really because it was close, it was just from being around campus and being around the coaching staff. They were different from every other school. I definitely like coach Cig (Curt Cignetti) and what he has going. I went there and it felt different from everywhere else. I love (cornerbacks coach Rod Ojong) too. It just felt like home.'
Hicks was a major part of Decatur Central's run to its first state championship last year in Class 5A. He caught 54 passes for 877 yards and 13 touchdowns and ran for 479 yards and five touchdowns on offense. On defense, Hicks had 32 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one caused fumble. He also averaged 48.8 yards on eight kickoff returns for coach Kyle Enright's team.
Hicks likely projects as a cornerback in college, at least initially.
'I was talking to coach (Cignetti) and I don't really know everything yet but because I do play both ways (in high school), he was talking about potentially down the road I could start playing both ways,' Hicks said. 'But coming in that first year I'm going to stick at corner. I don't really care (about position). I just love football.'
Hicks, rated as a three-star prospect by On3 and 247Sports, is the fourth known high school commit in IU's 2026 recruiting class. Four-star athlete Henry Ohlinger of Columbus, Ohio, three-star offensive lineman Samuel Simpson of River Falls, Wisc., and three-star defensive lineman Rodney White of Towson, Md., are the others.
Hicks is the third Decatur Central player in the 2026 class to commit to a Division I college, joining quarterback Polston (Toledo) and athlete Fa'Rel Carter, who committed to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
The connection with Ojong, who coached All-American cornerback D'Angelo Ponds last season as IU made a run to the College Football Playoff, played a major role in Hicks' comfort level in Bloomington.
'The first time I talked to him about a year ago at a junior day and got coached up by him, it was good,' Hicks said. 'I was there a lot and every time I went there, it was home. And a big difference from the other schools was that I had great relationships with all the coaches. At one school, it was just a relationship with the position coach. With IU, I had relationships with all the coaches there on the defensive side mostly.'
Hicks said the timing of his decision was him 'trusting my gut.'
'Coaches told me to trust my gut and I'd know when I know,' he said.
There are bigger challenges ahead for Hicks and his teammates in coming months as Decatur Central makes the jump from Class 5A to 6A via the tournament success factor. But his college decision is now behind him.
'I was just ready,' Hicks said.
When Hicks is ready, things tend to happen.