Another friend, fellow coach Heith Mayes, describes Hickmon as “always happy, upbeat, good father, good husband, always stood up for what’s right.” He was “a great person who wanted to help the community and wanted to better us as people.”
The 80 or so young athletes who witnessed the shooting have been crying, worried, and unable to sleep, says Mayes. “I mean, what can you expect? They nine, they babies.”
At the University of North Texas, where Hickmon played college football, he’s being remembered as a soft-spoken, stable leader. Former teammate Scott Hall (no relation to Pastor Hall), calls Hickmon “a gentle giant” who “had a lot of great perspectives.”
Hall says it especially hurts that Hickmon died while teaching a sport he was passionate about. “He was an outstanding leader to a lot of us younger guys on and off the field,” he adds. “He always had the right words at the right time to keep everyone on an even keel.”
