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In the months leading up to the start of fall camp, BeaversEdge.com will be counting down the Top 25 Oregon State football players on the 2024 roster.
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No. 21 DL Takari Hickle
Bio
No. 43
6-foot-3, 271-pounds
Rs-Sophomore
Tenino, Wash
Tenino HS
2023 Stats: 8 GP (Six tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and one quarterback hurry)
2023 Recap
Following a redshirt season in his true freshman season in 2022, Hickle cracked the defensive line rotation as a redshirt freshman in 2023, playing in eight contests.
The 6-foot-3, 271-pounder saw 96 total snaps at defensive end across his eight matchups, seeing the most extensive playing time in the wins over UC Davis (22 snaps), UCLA (19), and Stanford (19). Hickle turned the playing time into results as he tallied a season-high two tackles twice, against UCD & UCLA.
With the Beavers having such a veteran-laded group on the DL ahead of Hickle this past season, it's not a big surprise that his opportunities were limited. However, considering that he was still able to get his feet wet as far as collegiate experience goes while being such a young guy in a veteran room says a lot about his potential.
Getting Hickle that playing time last season was essential because, in the wake of a bevy of offseason graduations and departures, Hickle now finds himself as one of the more experienced returnees on the roster.
2024 Outlook
Entering the 2024 campaign, Hickle expects to compete for one of the starting spots on the DL as the Beavers graduated Joe Golden, Isaac Hodgins, James Rawls, and Tavis Shippen and lost DL/EDGE Sione Lolohea to the transfer portal this offseason.
Hickle was one of the more impressive DLs during spring football and he's certainly got a good chance to emerge as one of the starters along the line. There was a good amount of rotation along the DL as new position coach Illisa Tuiaki learned what he had, but Hickle was one of the more consistent.
Look for Hickle to lock down one of the defensive end spots in fall camp and have a true breakout season after getting a taste of the action last season. Hickle is a high-energy guy who is very athletic and seemingly has a high ceiling as he continues to improve.
I like Hickle to either win one of the defensive end jobs or be one of the top reserves as he proved last season he's certainly capable of filling bigger shoes.
UPDATE**
We've learned since publishing that Hickle won't be playing for the Beavers this season due to an injury suffered in spring...
Previously
Honorable Mentions + Just Missed
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