Hicks’s high school coach stunned to hear of Calgary Stampeder player’s death

Hicks was in his first CFL season and on Calgary’s practice roster. He was celebrating with teammates following a 36-34 home win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday, the Stampeders’ 10th straight victory that improved their league-best record to 11-1-1.

Hicks played four seasons under Watts at Detroit’s Renaissance High School, starring both at running back and in the secondary. But Hicks also excelled in the classroom as Watts said students must not only write an entrance test to enrol but also maintain solid grades to stay at the school.

“Mylan was much more than just a football player,” Watts said. “He graduated with over a 3.0 grade-point average and never got into any trouble at any time.

“Some of the teachers who are here and some who’ve actually left the school have called me saying Mylan was one of their favourites. He was very well loved and never any problem.”

That’s why Watts, a math teacher at Renaissance, has trouble believing Hicks was part of an altercation at the Calgary club. Police say several people were involved in an incident inside the club and that it escalated in the parking lot. They say they don’t know if Hicks was targeted.

“He was never that type of young man,” Watts said. “He was always respectful, always polite . . . he was always happy, that was just him.”

Following a stellar career at Renaissance, Hicks attended Michigan State University on a scholarship and played cornerback, safety and linebacker. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in psychology, Hicks signed as an undrafted free agent with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers in 2015.

He was released before training camp ended then signed with Calgary in May. Watts said while Hicks was determined to play pro football, he also understood the importance of having an education.

“He was going to chase his dream in football and if that didn’t pan out he’d still have something to fall back on, that was always his mindset,” Watts said. “When it came down to it, several schools were after him for football but he chose Michigan State because of academics as well as football.

“That was always one of the top things he was interested in.”

Before high school, Hicks played youth football with the Detroit Dragons. Club president Mike Williams coached Hicks both with the Dragons and at Renaissance and said while Hicks was a bona fide star, he remained a team player.

“He always paid attention to detail and wanted to do that little extra to get better,” Williams said. “Mylan was a smart kid.

“He could do whatever he put his heart and mind to. He could be whatever he wanted to be.”

Hicks also ran track, participated in off-season weightlifting sessions and helped tutor students at Renaissance as part of Watts’ off-season programs.

“Detroit is a pretty rough city,” Watts said. “You have certain parts that are rough and you have certain schools that are pretty rough.

“Mylan stayed away from all that by playing football with the Detroit Dragons. When he got here to Renaissance, I made sure my boys were involved in after-school tutoring, they also ran track, played baseball and basketball and lifted weights because we wanted to keep them away from the streets, which Mylan always did. He was here around us for at least 12 hours a day.”

Watts said Hicks was a very easy player to coach.

“It was always, ‘Yes coach. No coach. Yes sir. No sir,’” Watts said. “He took constructive criticism very well and never talked back to anybody, any coach and never asked, ‘Why?’

“A couple of times I had to pull him out of a game but there was never any attitude. Some kids would be, ‘My stats. Why am I not playing?’ but he never questioned our decision-making. He was always respective, a great person. I was really broken up (Sunday), I still am.”

Hicks played cornerback, safety and linebacker in 32 career contests at MSU. He suffered a broken arm in October 2014 against Nebraska but only missed four games and started at linebacker in the eighth-ranked Spartans’ 42-41 Cotton Bowl win over No. 5 Baylor.

“The first thing I think about Mylan is he was an extremely hard worker who only knew one speed — that was full speed — and always saying ‘Yes coach,’” said Harlon Barnett, Michigan State’s assistant head coach/co-defensive co-ordinator. “He was also very loyal to his teammates, school and family and was someone you could count on.

“God must’ve needed more loyal troopers because he surely got one in Mylan. He’s going to do everything right at 1,000 miles an hour with a smile on his face, no doubt about it, and love every minute of it.”

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Hicks’s high school coach stunned to hear of Calgary Stampeder player’s death

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