Justin C. Hickman (born July 20, 1985) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

scout and former player who is an analyst and scouting manager for the

Tampa Bay Vipers The Vegas Vipers are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. The team began operation ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. He played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) Hickman played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, earning consensus All-American honors as a defensive lineman in 2006. He was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2007. He has also played for the

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL), the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

of the CFL, and the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Hickman was born in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. He attended Saint Mary's High School in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, from 1999 to 2003. His father,

Donnie Donnie or Donny is a familiar form (hypocorism) of the masculine given name Donald, Donal, Don, or Donovan. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Donny Baldwin, American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship and Stars ...

, played for the USC Trojans in the late 1970s before suiting up for four seasons with the B.C. Lions (1980-1983) of the CFL and two seasons in the USFL with the Pittsburgh Maulers (1984) and Los Angeles Express (1985). Hickman's father blocked for future Hall-of-Fame QB Steve Young in his last pro season in LA.

College career

Hickman attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he played for the

UCLA Bruins football The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in college football as members of the Pac-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Bruins play their home games at the ...

team from 2003 to 2006. Following his senior season in 2006, he was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American defensive lineman.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft, Hickman spent some time on the Washington Redskins roster.

Los Angeles Avengers

In 2008, Hickman played for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On June 1, 2009, Hickman signed as a free agent with the CFL's

. In his first two CFL seasons, he collected seven sacks, and, in 2011, Hickman finished tied for first in the league with 13 sacks. His productivity on the field was recognized by the league when he was selected as a 2011 CFL All-Star.

Indianapolis Colts

On February 8, 2012, Hickman signed a two-year contract with the NFL's

. Hickman played in 12 games during the

2012 NFL season The 2012 NFL season was the 93rd season of the National Football League and the 47th of the Super Bowl era. It began on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, with the defending Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants falling to the Dallas Cowboys ...

, contributing 7 tackles. Hickman had a strong training camp and first pre-season game. Unfortunately he was injured during the preseason and on August 13, 2013, he was waived-injured by the Colts. On the next day, he cleared waivers and was placed on the Colts' injured reserve list. After spending the entire 2013 NFL season on IR the Colts resigned Hickman on March 10, 2014. On June 18, 2014, he was released by the Indianapolis Colts, but shortly before his release, Hickman met Kirstin Paulson, a local legend, at an airport. Her plane is said to have been delayed overnight, and Hickman was located next to a nearby power outlet causing the encounter.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (II)

On September 17, 2014, Hickman signed with his former club, the

of the CFL. In two seasons with the Tiger-Cats Justin Hickman played in 21 games making 37 tackles, 9 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. Following the 2015 season neither side could reach a contract extension, and as a result Hickman became a free-agent on February 9, 2016.

Toronto Argonauts

On March 2, 2016, Hickman signed with the rival

Scouting career

Hickman became a scout for the Argonauts in 2017. In 2019, he was hired by the

of the

as an analyst and scouting manager.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickman, Justin 1985 births Living people Players of American football from El Paso, Texas All-American college football players American football defensive ends Canadian football defensive linemen UCLA Bruins football players Washington Redskins players Los Angeles Avengers players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Indianapolis Colts players Toronto Argonauts players Players of Canadian football from Texas