Ronnie Hickman

American football player (born 2001)

American football player

Ronnie Hickman

Hickman with Ohio State in 2022

No. 33 – Cleveland Browns

Position:

Safety

Personal information

Born:

(2001-10-11) October 11, 2001 (age 22)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.

Height:

6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)

Weight:

209 lb (95 kg)

Career information

High school:

DePaul Catholic
(Wayne, New Jersey)

College:

Ohio State (2019–2022)

Undrafted:

2023

Career history

Cleveland Browns (2023–present)

Roster status:

Active

Career highlights and awards

Second-team All-Big Ten (2021)
Third-team All-Big Ten (2022)

Career NFL statistics as of 2023

Total tackles:	25
Interceptions:	1
Pass deflections:	3
Defensive touchdowns:	1

Player stats at PFR

Ronnie Hickman Jr. (born October 11, 2001) is an American football safety for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Browns after the 2023 NFL draft.

Early years

Raised in South Orange, New Jersey, Hickman attended DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne, New Jersey.^[1] He played safety and wide receiver in high school. Hickman was selected to play in the 2019 All-American Bowl.^[2]^[3] He committed to Ohio State University to play college football.^[4]^[5]

Prior to committing to Ohio State, Hickman was an All-American lacrosse player, and he originally committed to Rutgers University for lacrosse.^[6]

College career

Hickman played at Ohio State from 2019 to 2022. After redshirting in 2019 to recover from an injury he suffered his senior year in high school, he played in five games in 2020 on special teams, finishing with five tackles. In 2021, he started all 13 games recording 99 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a touchdown.^[7]^[8] In 2022, he started 13 games and had 53 tackles and an interception.^[9] After the season, Hickman entered the 2023 NFL draft.^[10]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in (1.84 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	33 in (0.84 m)	9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m)
All values from NFL Combine^[11]^[12]

Hickman signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 12, 2023.^[13] On August 29, 2023, the Browns announced that he had made the initial 53-man roster.^[14] During the Browns' Week 17 victory over the New York Jets, Hickman recorded his first career interception off quarterback Trevor Siemian and returned it 30 yards for his first NFL touchdown.^[15]

References

^ Evans, Alex (July 13, 2018). "Ronnie Hickman committed to Ohio State but focused on DePaul". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Hunt, Todderick (May 14, 2018). "DePaul 4-star Ronnie Hickman to play in the 2019 U.S. Army All-American Bowl". NJ.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Newman, Logan (October 19, 2018). "Ohio State commit Ronnie Hickman receives All-American Bowl jersey". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Bielik, Tim (April 14, 2018). "4-star athlete Ronnie Hickman commits to Ohio State". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Wasserman, Ari (April 13, 2018). "Ohio State earns a commitment from four-star athlete Ronnie 'Rocket' Hickman before spring game: What it means". The New York Times. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Schmidt, Lori (November 9, 2022). "From Drake to Oreos: Ohio State's Rocket Hickman demonstrates his versatility". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Baird, Nathan (September 30, 2021). "How 'Rocket' man Ronnie Hickman became Ohio State football's stabilizer at Bullet". cleveland.com. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Iseman, Chris (July 28, 2022). "How Ronnie Hickman, former North Jersey football star, blossomed into a leader at Ohio State". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Schmidt, Lori (November 9, 2022). "From Drake to Oreos: Ohio State's Rocket Hickman demonstrates his versatility". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Kaufman, Joey (November 22, 2022). "Ohio State football safety Ronnie Hickman to enter 2023 NFL draft". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ "Ronnie Hickman Jr. Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Ronnie Hickman College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
^ "Browns sign nine undrafted free agents". ClevelandBrowns.com. May 12, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ "Browns reduce roster to 53". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 29, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
^ Galatzan, Matt (March 13, 2024). "REPORT: Ex Buckeyes Standout Vonn Bell Released By Panthers". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 6, 2024.