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Honors and Awards
- 2009 Rimington Award Watch List
- 2008 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
- 2007 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
- 2009 Big 12 Commissioner's Spring Academic Honor Roll
2009 Game by Game (Updated 11-22-09)
Florida Atlantic: Game captain... helped Huskers amass 490 total yards, including 259 on the ground... aided team as it averaged 8.1 yards per rush. Arkansas State: Helped Huskers pound out 136 yards on the ground and 358 through the air. Virginia Tech: Called line assignments as Huskers rolled to 207 yards on the ground... NU added 136 yards passing and the O-line did not allow a sack for the second time this year. Louisiana-Lafayette: Helped Huskers to 55-0 romp, posting 300 yards passing and 133 on the ground... pass protection helped QBs hit 22-of-26 attempts. Missouri: Guided offensive line that led NU on four TD drives in fourth quarter. Texas Tech: Continued to lead offensive line sixth start of season. Iowa State: Started game but left early in first half with injury and did not return. Baylor: Made 30th career start as O-line did not allow a sack for third time on the season. Oklahoma: Led offensive unit that had 141 rushing yards, including 6.9-yards per rush by Roy Helu Jr. (138 yards, 20 carries).
2009 Outlook
Center Jacob Hickman will enter spring practice as the most game-tested veteran on the Nebraska offense. A two-time honorable-mention All-Big 12 pick, Hickman has started 23 games in his career including all 13 contests at center in 2008. He is one of three returning starters on the Husker offensive front and will look to provide leadership to a youthful 2009 offense. Hickman is a preseason member of the Rimington Award watch list and could be a contender for conference and national accolades.
Hickman worked at both guard and center this spring and while he is expected to anchor the line at center, he does have significant playing experience at guard, giving the offensive line added versatility. The play of Hickman has helped Nebraska rank among the nation's top 12 in total offense each of the past two seasons.
Hickman is on track to earn his degree in construction management in December. He is one of 11 Husker seniors expected to pick up their degree by the end of the fall semester.
2008 (Junior)
After switching from guard during spring ball, Hickman was one of only two linemen to start every game last fall. Hickman was the anchor for the Cornhuskers’ 2008 offensive line that powered the unit to top-20 national rankings in scoring, rushing and total offense. The Huskers finished the year averaging 450.8 yards per game to rank 12th nationally and topped 30 points in 10 of 13 games.
The offensive line made steady progress throughout the year, helping make Nebraska one of the Big 12’s top rushing teams. Nebraska finished third in the league in rushing in conference games and averaged better than 210 yards per game over the final half of the regular season. Nebraska rushed for at least 160 yards in each of the final six games of the regular season, including 340 yards at Kansas State, the most by Nebraska in a Big 12 game in six seasons.
Hickman and his line mates also allowed senior quarterback Joe Ganz to set season school records for passing yards and total offense. The continuity Hickman provided for Ganz helped the signal caller complete better than 67 percent of his passes and post five 300-yard passing days. Both of those marks were Nebraska season records.
2007 (Sophomore)
After missing spring ball because of a knee injury, Hickman played in all 12 games in 2007, including starts in the final nine games at left guard. He was a key cog in a line that helped Nebraska set single-game and season passing records, averaging better than 323 passing yards per game to finish seventh nationally. Despite throwing a school-record 481 passes, the line surrendered only 18 sacks.
The Huskers also finished ninth nationally in total offense by averaging 468.2 yards per game. The line paved the way for I-back Marlon Lucky to record a 1,000-yard rushing season, along with more than 1,700 all-purpose yards.
2006 (Freshman)
Hickman played in five games, appearing in non-conference wins over Louisiana Tech, Nicholls State and Troy. He saw extensive action at Oklahoma State, helping Nebraska roll up 452 yards of offense. That performance earned Hickman the start against Missouri. Hickman also served on NU’s PAT and field goal units. Hickman missed the Cotton Bowl after suffering a knee injury in December.
Against Missouri, Hickman became just the second true freshman offensive lineman to start a game for Nebraska since 1972, joining teammate Matt Slauson who started the final three games at offensive tackle as a true frosh in 2005. Hickman also became just the seventh Husker true freshman lineman to letter since 1972.
Before Nebraska (Centennial HS)
Hickman was a two-way standout for Coach Brian Nixon at Centennial High School in Bakersfield, playing defensive tackle and offensive line. Hickman earned second-team CalHi Sports all-state honors as a senior in 2004, and was a first-team all-state underclassman selection as a junior, when he also earned all-area and all-league honors. Hickman had 56 tackles and 13 sacks as a junior in helping Centennial to a 10-3 record.
Hickman was ranked among the top 50 prospects in California by Rivals.com. He only visited Nebraska, but also received offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Washington and UCLA.
Personal
Hickman is the son of Bill Hickman and Nancy Smith, and was born on Aug. 14, 1986. He is a construction management major and has volunteered with Nebraska’s regular hospital visits, as well as at Eastmont Towers.
Hickman's Career Statistics
Games Played - 39 (5 in 2006, 12 in 2007, 13 in 2008, 9 in 2009)
Games Started - 31 (9 in 2007, 13 in 2008, 9 in 2009)
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Courtesy: Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations
