Dezz Ricks is already proving himself to be one of the top corners in the nation this season with his play on the field, which Aggie fans have been expecting given his stellar 2025 season. However, something he revealed in media availability today was absolutely jaw-dropping given how well he played last year.
Ricks, speaking about injury issues from the previous year, let everyone in the gathered press know that he played through last season with a torn labrum in his shoulder— saying that, at one point during the spring, he was unable to raise his arm at all. He didn't get surgery to fix it until after the season this past year, which is absolutely wild to hear given how well he was playing in 2025.
Texas A&M cornerback Dezz Ricks spoke about playing through a torn labrum in his shoulder all of last season before undergoing surgery.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) September 15, 2026
“I couldn’t raise my arm.”
Now healthy, Ricks has allowed just one catch for a yard on five targets in coverage through two games, per PFF. pic.twitter.com/QuPQHCMaqS
Ricks wasn't just a good cover corner last season, he tackled well for the Aggies too. It's hard to conceive of being able to play through an injury like this throughout the grind of an SEC schedule, but Ricks somehow pulled it off.
Dezz Ricks reveals he played through 2025 with a torn labrum in his shoulder
As crazy as this is to hear for Texas A&M fans, it also means something pretty positive for this season. The reasoning is simple: if Ricks was able to be one of the best corners in the conference last season while playing through this kind of injury, then just how good can he be this year after overcoming it?
That should be a scary thought for many Aggie opponents going forward. For as tough as it was for the Aggies to cover Arizona State's Reed Harris this past weekend, you'll notice upon rewatch that Ricks was never covering Harris on the plays where he registered a catch.
In fact, as Carter Karels says in the above post, Ricks has only been targeted five times so far in the season— and he's given up only one catch for one yard in that time. That is an absolutely stellar statistic for the fourth-year cover man, and it shows what kind of weapon he truly is for the Aggie defense.
Having a guy who can shut down an entire side of the field is a huge gift for defensive coordinators, as it makes things a heck of a lot easier on them when trying to stymy offenses. Ricks is that guy for the Aggies, and Julio Humphrey, who has been starting opposite him, hasn't been too shabby at all either.
Harris's big day on Saturday aside, the Aggies have been one of the most effective secondaries in the country up until this point. Missouri State showed that they are a more than capable passing offense in game two of the year, and A&M held them to a shockingly low 1.7 yards per attempt in the opener— Ricks was a big part of that.
Hopefully, Dezz is able to avoid any injury this season. He's an invaluable part of this pass defense for the Aggies, and as the year goes on, he'll only become even more of a key piece.
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