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Never count out a Tiger...
For most college football fans, the moment you hear "walk on", your attention dwindles, your seriousness drains, and you begin to question the sanity of everyone who believes in said "walk on".
Never count out a Tiger...
Come on, man, there's just no way a walk on will be able to...
Never count out a Tiger...
And so....we write about a 2024 walk-on Tiger, a player who just might make something happen this fall:
A native of Mandeville, Louisiana, this young beast was a major cog of St Paul's defensive line throughout his high school days, before originally committing to Oklahoma State & spending his 2022 true freshman year in Stillwater.
Showcasing his athleticism, Hickey also made one of the offensive plays of the year in 2021, catching a 7 yard touchdown pass in an overtime win against town rivals Mandeville High.
While he didn't receive any game action during his freshman year at Oklahoma State, after he returned back home to Louisiana last off-season, Preston would find action in two games, vs Grambling and Army.
Despite being a preferred walk-on at LSU, the Tigers' D-line depth was so limited Hickey was not only given multiple chances with the 2nd string, he stood out on the depth chart this spring, operating with plenty of push up front.
At times, we witnessed domination from Hickey, stationed as Bo Davis' starting 2nd string DT....alongside JUCO transfer Shone Washington. Their consistent, rousing displays culminated in a blistering, barrel house performance during April's Spring Game, where both Hickey & Washington devastated LSU's 2nd team O-line. Could Hickey experience a breakout campaign??? Carving out a place as a DT standout & reliable gap-clogging, run-stopping, backfield-penetrating force among Bo Davis' rotation???
With LSU's defensive tackle roster as thin as ever in recent memory, the former St. Paul's trench titan will have a massive opportunity to make an impact, play frequent rotational snaps, and take his game to the next level during a vicious, lengthy SEC schedule.
While many may count him out due to his preferred walk-on status, I would reply with one simple statement: "Go watch the film....he's good enough."
Not only that, Hickey doesn't have very many natural DTs in his way, just Jacobian Guillory, Gio Paez, Jalen Lee, Jay'viar Suggs, Dominick McKinley, De'Myrion Johnson....two of those Tigers are true freshmen, two more are newly minted transfer arrivals of varying quality, and then there's another on this list that I'd rate Hickey above....
Never count out a Tiger...
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