Elite 2026 S Zelus Hicks commits to Texas

Per On3's Hayes Fawcett, elite five-star 2026 Carrollton (GA) safety Zelus Hicks committed to Texas football on Sep. 12. Hicks committed to Texas over the Tennessee Volunteers, Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers, and Clemson Tigers on Thursday.

Texas football gets a huge 5-Star 2026 S commit from the southeast in Zelus Hicks

He announced his commitment to the Longhorns on his 18th birthday on Sep. 12. Hicks is the second five-star prospect and the first defensive player to commit to the Longhorns in the 2026 class. He joins Fort Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage quarterback Dia Bell among the two five-star commitments in the Longhorns 2026 class.

Hicks visited Texas unofficially twice since spring practice back in April during the offseason. He took his first visit to Texas in mid-April during spring ball. And then, he made a return visit to Texas roughly two months later for the Elite Camp in early June.

In between those two unofficial visits to Texas in April and June, Hicks picked up an offer from the Longhorns on May 1.

This is a big win on the recruiting trail for safeties coach Blake Gideon and head coach Steve Sarkisian to secure their first elite defensive prospect commitment in the 2026 class. Texas went into the state of Georgia in SEC territory in the southeast and won a big-time battle on the recruiting trail over other big-time SEC programs like Tennessee, Auburn, and Georgia, among others.

Gideon and Sarkisian also had help from running backs coach Tashard Choice in this recruitment for Hicks, since he has connections in and around the state of Georgia.

""Coach Sark's message was he really likes me, he really likes my character as a person, and he likes that I’ve got a good family foundation. Those were the main things he was pressing on me. "

Hicks told On3 that the messaging from Sarkisian and the Texas coaching staff and the family atmosphere on campus in Austin were big factors that led him to commit to the Longhorns.

Texas gets a big and physical future starter at boundary safety in Hicks

The 6-foot-2 and 190-pound safety from Georgia Hicks is a big downhill safety who most likely projects to play at the boundary spot for Texas's secondary in the future. Since Hicks is older for his class as a junior in high school, he is one of the more physically mature and college-ready safeties in the class of 2026.

Hicks is a gifted tackler who brings a lot of pop in the pads when he gets his sights on the ball carrier defending the run or getting one-on-one against the ball carrier on the outside. He holds his own contesting space, and can proficiently cover tight ends, wideouts, and running backs in shallow parts of the field and between the numbers from the safety position.

His game reminds me of a blend of the type of physicality and instincts in space that someone like sophomore Texas safety Derek Williams Jr. brings and the downhill athleticism of former UT DB Anthony Cook. Hicks doesn't have the same type of raw speed and ranginess that Williams brings to the safety position. But he is more physical and mature, with the ability to play in the box or at nickel, than the speedy and rangy Williams.

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