Just a few years ago, the only thing Dwone Hicks had on the menu was a headache for opposing defenses. These days, he's serving up something else entirely.
After a couple of stops in the National Football League and a few other business ventures, the former Middle Tennessee football standout returned to Murfreesboro and is currently co-owner and operator of Around the Way Dog, a specialty hot dog restaurant located on East Main Street near campus.
Hicks opened the location with Rachel Wilson, assistant professor of business communication and entrepreneurship at MTSU. The idea stemmed from Hicks' stint with the Chicago Bears.
"When I played for the Bears, my wife, who was then just my friend, used to take me around to all the hot dog restaurants, and I love hot dogs," Hicks said. "I told her I wanted to open up a restaurant of my own, and for the first time she actually agreed with me."
Hicks wanted to create an establishment that allowed diners to top their hot dogs with almost anything they would want.
"There's a lot of places where you can get a hot dog, and that's about it," Hicks said. "So I wanted to go crazy with it, where you could put a whole bunch of toppings on it, and build your dog the way you wanted to build it."
It would seem his goal has been achieved, as the menu offers more than 20 toppings, from traditional chili and cheese to more unconventional choices such as fried eggs, mushrooms and peanut butter.
Hicks also wants Around the Way Dog to become a regular stop for MTSU students. The walls are adorned with Blue Raider memorabilia, and the restaurant is beginning to market itself through MT athletics.
"More than anything, we want this to be the students' restaurant," Hicks said.
The former running back can recall a distinct lack of community and business involvement with the university during his playing days, an issue that MTSU still struggles
with today.
"I would go to the mall and look at the little kiosks they had set up – I was looking for an MT chain, but all they had was UT, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, everyone but Middle," Hicks said. "I decided that if I was going to have a business, especially this close to campus, we were going to represent MTSU."
Though the restaurant has only been open for a few months, Hicks acknowledges the possibility of expansion.
"Maybe another location on the other side of town, or bringing the model to another college town," Hicks said. "If people continue to support us I think we can get there."
Hicks has also spent time as a personal trainer, and continues to do so on a limited basis. He feels that his time spent with a variety of strength coaches has given him a great degree of knowledge, which he enjoys sharing with others. In particular, Hicks hopes to coach at the high school level in the future.
"I want to help student-athletes become men, to know that they don't only have to become football players," Hicks said.
"When I was playing I only had one focus, but on a team there would be 100 guys with the same focus. When we get out of school we don't know what in the world to do. It's like starting all over again, behind the pace of
everybody else."
Still, Hicks achieved a great deal of success during his playing days. While racking up gaudy numbers as a Blue Raider, the running back spawned MT's first attempt at marketing a Heisman Trophy candidate.
He then signed with the Tennessee Titans, and later saw action with the Bears, his favorite team growing up as a child. Not surprisingly, Hicks enjoyed his time in the
professional ranks.
"It was an awesome experience to be in the locker room with the likes of Steve McNair, and see how down-to-earth and cool he, Eddie George and Brian Urlacher are, that they're there just to have fun and play football," Hicks said.
It's not uncommon for retired football players to attempt comebacks. Though he's only 28, Hicks insists that he's done with the game.
"When I walked away, I walked away for a reason. It's like a revolving door – once you're out of that loop it's hard to get back in," Hicks said.
He refers to his wife Alaina, and the recent birth of his son, Cannon, as motivation to
stay put.
"It's about starting that next phase of life," Hicks said. "Sports only last so long, and I'm getting ‘football old.'"
Even though he doesn't plan a return to the gridiron, the former Blue Raider still keeps close tabs on his alma mater. Hicks insists that despite the success of this year's squad, his 2001 team could give the current group a run for their money.
"If we had had this year's defense, we would have cracked the top 20," he said, "But our offense was explosive to say the least."
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