Ben Hicks knows he was living a blessed life as a sophomore last season. Not many college quarterbacks can come to the line of scrimmage and see one NFL-caliber receiver on their right and a second on their left.

Some pro quarterbacks can barely say that.

But with Courtland Sutton and Trey Quinn as his top two targets, life was good for Hicks on the way to 3,569 yards and 33 touchdowns in his second season as the starting quarterback. Sutton and Quinn combined for 2,321 of those yards and 182 of his 276 completions.

“With those guys, he could just kind of throw it up and let some guys make some plays,” head coach Sonny Dykes said.

James Proche caught 40 passes last year, and looks ready to step into a bigger role, but Hicks’ job in 2018 is clear.

“I don’t think we’re going to have that kind of personnel to be able to do that. So, he needs to be a little more precise. He needs to improve his decision-making,” Dykes said. “But there are times from an accuracy standpoint where you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s really good.’ Or he’ll make a back-shoulder throw or do something where you just say ‘Wow, there’s not many people that are comfortable making that throw and do it.’”

With Dykes’ Air Raid and Rhett Lashlee bringing a knowledge of a more run-dependent, hurry-up, no-huddle scheme, the Mustangs may lean more on screens and a running game headlined by Xavier Jones, Braeden West and Ke’Mon Freeman, but Hicks will carry plenty on his shoulders as one of the most experienced members of the offense.

“Mentally, the experience of playing the past two years, it’s invaluable. Experience is the greatest learning tool, and because of that, I can go out and have a different approach this year,” Hicks said. “It’s only going to help me.”

So will the eight pounds of muscle he added in the offseason, a directive from the coaching staff to allow him to hold up better to the inevitable punishment any quarterback takes in the pocket.

“He needs to be a guy who can make first downs, move the chains, distribute the ball to the right players and let the big plays take care of themselves,” Dykes said. “(Ben) needs to be a guy who makes good decisions.”