NEWPORT-Cocke County High School football senior Justin Hicks will make his next step onto the gridiron a long ways away.

Hicks announced his intent to play football at Feather River College located in Quincy, California. The former Fighting Cocks defensive lineman, who made All District 2-AAA honorable mention the past two years, made the decision public at a signing ceremony held at CCHS on Friday afternoon.

The decision to attend the Northern California junior college, which is located nearly 2,500 miles from Newport, was something that Hicks said was not a hard decision to make the long journey west once he had the backing of his family.

"At first it was (a hard decision)," Hicks said. "Then I just had to see the opportunity that was there, so I took it.

"Once I had all the support, I knew that it would be a good decision," Hicks said.