Renee Hill joined Friday's episode of "Current Sports with Al Martin." Her son, Mylan Hicks, was a defensive end for the MSU football team team from 2010-2014 and went on to sign professional contracts in the NFL and the CFL. He was killed in a shooting September of last year in Canada.
Outside of a Calgary nightclub on Sept. 25, 2016, Hicks was shot following an altercation that he was not involved in. Hicks died later that day from his injuries. He was not the target of the attack.
Hicks was one of the top recruits coming from Renaissance High School in Detroit and he received a full ride to MSU.
He landed at MSU because his friends from Renaissance Chris Norman and Dana Dixon had gone before Mylan, and he wanted to stick with that family. Coach Mark Dantonio and coach Harlon Barnett went to visit Hicks and his family at their home, and his mother, Renee Hill, said it was delightful. A very respectable visit, Hill said, and she got a good feel from them.
Hill said she knew Michigan State was a good school academically and that she was more concerned with the academics rather than the athletics. She wasn’t concerned with Mylan’s performance in college academically, because he was as bright as one could be, she said.
Hill said she did not have a problem with Dantonio, but before she had an understanding, she had a problem with Hicks not playing a lot. She said not playing a lot weighed on Mylan, and he considered transferring at one point, but she urged him to stay. After Hill spoke with Dantonio herself, he respectfully pointed out that Hicks needed to improve in some areas, and eventually, Hicks began to see the field more.