{"id":763583,"date":"2026-06-27T00:28:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/763583\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T00:28:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T00:28:34","slug":"hogan-hicks-kick-starts-ground-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/763583\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogan: Hicks Kick-starts Ground Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was an off-season question that was asked often, who would be the starting running back for the Toronto Argonauts in 2026?<\/p>\n

When training camp opened, returnee Spencer Brown and free-agent addition Peyton Logan split the reps on the first unit. Neither looked bad, but while both flashed, neither seized the opportunity to make the job their own and both were released by the end of camp.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jyran Mitchell and Qualan Jones were also competing for reps, as were draft picks Isaiah Smith and Weagbe Mombo. All but Mitchell remain with the team, Smith on the roster, Jones and Mombo on the practice roster.<\/p>\n

The player that eventually won the starting job was the least talked about of the half-dozen backs that reported to Guelph.<\/p>\n

Sam Hicks didn\u2019t play football in 2025. After wrapping up his college career at Abilene Christian, the fourth stop on his post-secondary journey, he found himself out of the game, but he never gave up on his dream of playing pro.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked out and trained every day,\u201d Hicks told Argonauts.ca. \u201cI created my own regimen, took care of what I needed to take care of, and just stayed in shape. I didn\u2019t know what the UFL was going to do, I just had faith and kept working. Then the call came (from Toronto). God gave me the opportunity and I took it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the five American running backs, the Dallas\/Fort Worth native\u2019s name was at the bottom of the depth chart when camp opened but he gradually worked his way to the top. Hicks made big plays every day at camp, either running the ball, or catching it out of the backfield. He also enhanced his value by showing he could return kickoffs if needed.<\/p>\n

Was there a time that he knew he\u2019d won the starting job?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was never a thought that, \u2018Oh, I know now,\u2019 it\u2019s that I always knew coming in. That\u2019s just the type of person I am, I\u2019ll like me over anybody and I love to work. That\u2019s why I made it through training camp and became one of the guys on the roster and making an impact for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those written words may lead one to believe Hicks is arrogant, but that\u2019s far from the case. He\u2019s simply confident in his ability. So far, his actions have equaled his self-assuredness. He\u2019s shown that he can get the hard yards by running up the middle but has also displayed his speed by utilizing the width of a CFL field, beating his man to the sideline and turning the run downfield.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Through two games, he\u2019s rushed for 132 yards in an offence that has lived on big offensive plays, adding 39 more yards through the air, and scoring his first CFL touchdown last week in the Capital. His 5.3 yards per carry are slightly above the league average of 5.0.<\/p>\n

As a group, the Argos are rushing for 91.0 yards per game, fifth in the CFL, and a whopping 40 yards per game better than last year\u2019s historically low 51.6 yards per outing.<\/p>\n

When Hicks looks at his individual stats, his eyes are drawn to one category first, the one he feels is most important to his game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at combined yards first,\u201d he explained. \u201cThen rushing yards and touchdowns. Because I\u2019m an all-purpose back, I look at combined yards number one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also shown that at 5\u20199\u201d, 190 pounds, he\u2019s a willing blocker, helping out the offensive linemen that make his job easier by providing him holes to run through.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re great, I love them,\u201d said Hicks. \u201cThat\u2019s why I block my butt off, to work with those guys. I\u2019m telling you, when I get my first hundred yard game, I\u2019m going to take the boys out to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The way to an offensive lineman\u2019s heart is through his stomach, so there is no doubt those words from Hicks will be posted in the area of the locker room where the big men hang their oversized hats.<\/p>\n

While the evening will be an expensive one, there\u2019s little doubt Hicks would like to be able to pay up next week after the Argos game in Regina against the Roughriders on Friday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was an off-season question that was asked often, who would be the starting running back for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-763583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}