Perhaps the clearest indication that Jamall Hickbottom no longer thinks of himself as a linebacker is the jersey number.

After beginning his South Alabama career in No. 50 and wearing No. 12 for the last two years, Hickbottom showed up this spring in No. 93. He’s a defensive lineman, and that’s permanent.

“I had to leave linebacker a long time ago,” Hickbottom said. “That was probably 30, 40 pounds ago.”

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Indeed, Hickbottom’s physique has also helped dictate his position on the South Alabama defense. He signed out of Mobile’s Williamson High School in 2018 at 6-foot-2, 245 pounds and now checks in at 288.

Hickbottom spent a fall and a spring at linebacker before moving to the defensive line prior to the 2019 season. He missed that entire season due to injury and then began to get on the field on defense late in 2020.

“It was an adjustment at first, I’m not going to lie,” Hickbottom said of the move to the defensive line. “It was hard for me. I got here as a linebacker and my second year, I was next man up (behind the starters). I was going to get on the field that year. But I moved to D-line and had work my way up. I was at the bottom of D-line depth chart and had to work my way all the way back up. So it was a real adjustment.”

However, it was after the arrival of Kane Wommack and his staff in 2021 that things began to click for Hickbottom. He earned a spot in the Jaguars’ defensive line rotation that season, playing in all 12 games (including a start against Appalachian State) and totaling 20 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Starting defensive end Jamie Sheriff returned from injury in 2022, cutting into Hickbottom’s playing time somewhat. In 10 games, he totaled nine tackles, including a half tackle for loss.

Nearly every key defensive lineman from 2022 is back this spring, but Hickbottom has been part of the first group as often as not during the early days of practice. Along with returning starters Charles Coleman and Wy’Kevious “Bubba” Thomas, he’s seeing time at both nose tackle and at the Jaguars’ 3-technique defensive tackle, which often lines up on the offensive guard’s outside shoulder.

“He’s what I call ‘Mr. Consistent,’” defensive line coach Landius Wilkerson said. “I’ve said it for two years now. He’s very consistent. He’s always doing the right thing at the right time, so he’s a guy you can rely on. He’s probably playing better than anybody this spring in this moment, in my opinion.”

Hickbottom walked off the practice field Wednesday carrying a purple, gold and green floppy Mardi Gras hat and matching beads, a team award for forcing a turnover in the previous practice. During one 11-on-11 drill Monday, Hickbottom snagged a tipped ball for an interception and showed his old linebacker’s nimbleness in evading the first few would-be tacklers.

With veterans such as Coleman, Thomas, Sheriff, Brock Higdon, Ed Smith, Carlos Johnson, Maurice Strong and others, Hickbottom is part of a defensive line that Wommack has many times termed the Jaguars’ top unit on either side of the ball the last two seasons. Heading into his sixth and final season of college football (like others, he got a free “COVID year” of eligibility for 2020), it seems he’s taking a back seat to no one.

Wommack was there from the beginning as it were, having recruited Hickbottom in late 2017 as defensive coordinator on Joey Jones’ staff. The Jaguars got early commitments from Hickbottom and Williamson teammate and close friend Roger McCreary, though McCreary later de-committed and signed with Auburn (and is now with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans).

“It’s pretty fun to have recruited Jamall here as a linebacker,” Wommack said. “You knew he was going to get big in his frame. We thought he might grow to be a defensive end. I don’t think any of us thought he’d grow to a 3-technique, but here he is operating at a really high level. He’s been here for a long time, but he’s playing really well right now.

“He’s physical, he’s got his body in the right condition, and he knows what to do. Our defensive line is really experienced, and when you can play to the same level as a Bubba Thomas — and we don’t see much of a drop off right now — it’s pretty exciting. It’s a credit to all the work Jamall has put in, even from the end of the season to now in spring football.”

South Alabama returns to the practice field on Friday morning. The annual Red-White spring scrimmage is set for April 15 at Hancock Whitney Stadium.