WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Akiem Hicks isn’t the type to make excuses.
The big defensive end played through an ankle injury last year, a problem that nagged and lingered and eventually landed him on injured reserve for the season finale. An ankle injury like that can be the difference between the star-making season everybody expected Hicks to have and the slight dip in production that followed his breakout 2013 campaign.
Except that Hicks would never admit it.
“You can’t lean on that as a reason to why you didn’t meet your goals,” Hicks said.