Cal Football: Elijah Hicks Agrees to Play in the East-West Shrine Game

Socially active safety earned All-Pac-12 first team honors this season.

All-Pac-12 safety Elijah Hicks of Cal has accepted an invitation to play in the 97th East-West Shrine Bowl on Thursday, Feb. 3 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Hicks, whose resume also includes doing substantial community service work, earned third-team All-America honors for Pro Football Focus. He was a finalist for the Pop Warner College Football Award and a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year and the Wuerffel Trophy.

In the video at the top of this story, shot prior to the Bears' final game, Hicks reflects on the ups and downs of his senior season, when Cal was 5-7 and failed to qualify for a bowl game.

The Shrine Game, which for many years was hosted by Stanford, is one of the oldest and most prestigious post-collegiate all-star games. Being named to the game also gives players hoping to play in the NFL the opportunity to work out for a week in front of pro scouts.

Hicks, who started 46 of 54 games he played for the Bears, enjoyed his most productive season in 2021. He started all 12 games, was second on the team with 72 tackles, had a career-high three interceptions, 5.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups. He also led the Pac-12 with four forced fumbles, ranking in a tie for 11th nationally.

Named to the AFCA All-State Good Works Team as a junior in 2020, Hicks created his own non-profit foundation, Intercept Poverty, which responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by working with No Hungry Kid and raising nearly $70,000 to provide financial assistance to low-incoming family to help feed their children.

Hicks, who came to Cal as a cornerback, finished his Cal career with 213 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, five interceptions that he returned for 66 yards and one touchdown, 14 pass breakups and six forced fumbles.

The Shrine Game will be televised by the NFL Network at 5 p.m. on Feb. 5.

Cover photo of Elijah Hicks by Cal Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo