Eddie Hicks comes to Arkansas from Cincinnati, where he coached the Bearcats’ cornerbacks last season. The defense allowed 24.8 points per game to help the Bearcats earn an invitation to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
Hicks spent two seasons at LSU as the Tigers’ lead defensive analyst (2023-24). The Tigers won 19 games during his two seasons, including a 10-3 mark in 2023. He coached at Jacksonville State as the Gamecocks’ cornerbacks coach in 2022 with the team going 9-2 in their final season in FCS. The defense allowed just 216.0 passing yards per game while intercepting eight passes.
Over his three seasons at Charlotte coaching the cornerbacks, the 49ers set a school record for wins (7) and the program’s longest winning streak (5) while also earning the first bowl game in school history with a trip to the 2019 Bahamas Bowl. The 2019 49ers defense was the second-best against the pass in Conference USA, allowing 189.0 yards per game.
Hicks returned to his alma mater, Southern Miss, in 2018 as the Golden Eagles’ cornerbacks coach. His work helped the defense lead Conference USA and rank 10th nationally in passing defense, yielding just 175.6 yards per game. The Eagles’ 14 interceptions ranked fourth in the league with Ky’el Hemby’s six picks paced C-USA.
Hicks earned his first on-field coaching position at Murray State in 2015 as the Racers’ defensive backs coach before moving onto Austin Peay, where he coached for two seasons (2016-17). At Austin Peay, he was part of one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football as the Govs bounced back from consecutive winless seasons to go 8-4 in 2017. That team snapped a 29-game losing streak in 2017 en route to the program’s first winning record in a decade.
He began his coaching career in 2012 as a graduate assistant at Alcorn State before spending a year at Cincinnati as a graduate assistant in 2013 and a year at Cal in 2014 as a defensive quality control.
Hicks played at Southern Miss, graduating in 2009. He registered 238 tackles and 13 interceptions during his career, earning All-Conference USA accolades in 2008 and 2009 with an All-Freshman team nod in 2006. His Golden Eagles teams played in four bowl games during his tenure, winning the GMAC Bowl in 2006 and New Orleans Bowl in 2008.
He and his wife, JoTrina, have two sons – Eddie IV and Jayvion – and one daughter – Emani.
The Hicks File
Birthdate: March 24, 1987
Hometown: Clarksdale, Miss.
High School: Clarksdale HS
College: Southern Miss, 2009
Family: Wife – JoTrina; Sons – Eddie IV and Jayvion; Daughter – Emani
Coaching Experience
2012 Alcorn State – Graduate Assistant
2013 Cincinnati – Graduate Assistant
2014 Cal – Defensive Quality Control
2015 Murray State – Defensive Backs
2016-17 Austin Peay – Cornerbacks
2018 Southern Miss – Cornerbacks
2019-21 Charlotte – Cornerbacks
2022 Jacksonville State – Cornerbacks
2023-24 LSU – Lead Defensive Analyst
2025 Cincinnati – Cornerbacks
Playing Experience
2006-09 Southern Miss
