POCATELLO, Idaho - Senior defensive back
Anthony Ricks has been playing football at Idaho State for the past six years. As a 17-year-old originally from San Marcos, Calif., moving to Idaho in 2014 was a big change.
Ricks moved over 800 miles to come to Pocatello for school. He had to learn how to live on his own for the first time while dealing with the demands of being a student-athlete. This experience made him mature quickly.
"Idaho State was always by my side," Ricks said. "They really wanted me and showed me love. That was what got me here, how much love and respect they have always had for me."
While Idaho State made an appealing pitch to Ricks, the decision to leave his family was still tough. He is very close to his four sisters and two brothers and has great admiration for his mother. He looks up to her because she sacrificed so much for him and his siblings.
Ricks has a brother who was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome when he was one years old. This is a kidney disorder that causes the kidneys to release the protein that the body is supposed to store there.
"He has been battling this for a long time," Ricks said. "He is even to this day is playing sports and I'm like if he can fight through this every day, so can I."
Ricks' younger brother has shown him the strength to succeed on and off the football field.
Growing up Ricks was surrounded by the game of football. His stepfather, Jonathan Burrough, was a former Baltimore Ravens player and he has cousins who have played Division I football. Ricks has attended a lot of NFL games, Division I games, and met NFL players like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.
Ricks started playing football when his mother and stepfather put him in a youth tackle football league when he was eight. He hated playing the sport in the beginning because he thought he was meant to be a basketball player.
It took him about a year to get used to how physical football was. But once he did, he fell in love with the game. He knew during those first few years that he wanted to play football in college.
"As soon as they [his family] saw me play, they all knew I could do it," Ricks said. "They gave me the confidence to be able to know I can go out there everyday and just work to be able to achieve my goals."
Ricks graduated in May of 2019 with his undergraduate degree after majoring in business and marketing management from the College of Business. This semester he started his graduate degree in athletic administration. Earning a master's degree has always been his plan, so finishing that in May is very important to him and his family. This achievement is significant because he will be the first in his family to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree.
After he graduates Ricks is headed back to Calif., to help his family with the business they own, Senior Home Healthcare. He hopes to help that business grow while he figures out what type of business he wants to start.
"Football has been part of my life since I was eight years old," Ricks said. "Especially because it is my life. It will be a hard change. I am going to miss a lot of the people here. I have developed so many relationships with so many people. They have given me so many opportunities and I will be eternally grateful for that."
