Canadian Chuba Hubbard Heisman Trophy Contender

Canadian RB Chuba Hubbard, who is only a sophomore, is now considered a Heisman Trophy contender, something no Canadian has ever done.

Quote:

---

Chuba Hubbard has put himself among elite company at Oklahoma State University. The Canadian Cowboy rushed for 296 yards on 25 carries with one explosive touchdown in the Pokes’ upset victory over Kansas State University. OSU jumped to No. 21 in the top 25 national rankings, thanks in large part to Hubbard. ...

The Sherwood Park, Alberta native leads the entire NCAA in rushing with 938 yards in five games, including three 200-plus yard efforts. That’s a feat never accomplished in school history, which is remarkable considering Pro Football Hall of Fame running backs Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas played at OSU. ...

Hubbard’s putting up video game-type numbers, currently on pace for more than 2,400 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground in 13 games. That’s channeled memories of Sanders and Thomas in Stillwater, Oklahoma. ...

The last running back to put his hands on the most coveted individual award in football was Derrick Henry. The hulking back rushed for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2015 as a member of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. Hubbard’s eye-popping production has put him in the Heisman conversation.

“They’re going to compare him to whoever won the last Heisman that was running the ball,” Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said. “I’m blessed. It’s cool that it’s happening but I just want to win,” Hubbard said.

The high school track star dreams of making the Olympics as a sprinter one day after running a personal-best 100 metre time of 10.55 seconds in 2015. NCAA schools offered Hubbard scholarships in both sports — football and track — and he identifies Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse as one of his idols. Hubbard bulked up to 207 pounds to handle the load of a No. 1 running back at a Power Five conference university.

“If you stop the [Heisman] race right now he’s in good shape, but we got a long ways to go. He’s gotta stay hungry, he’s gotta stay humble, gotta continue to work hard,” Gundy said. ...

“When he’s on the field we’re a different football team,” Gundy said.

Hubbard’s emerging as a game-changing back and about to become a household name in North America. It’s a role the Bev Facey High School product seems well-suited to handle. The campaign has begun: #HubbardForHeisman.

---

https://3downnation.com/2019/09/30/c...-state-greats/

November 30th Oklahoma State at Oklahoma will be a good game to watch to see Canadian DT Neville Gallimore 6'2 300 on Oklahoma against Canadians RB Chuba Hubbard 6'1 207 and WLB Amen Ogbonogbemiga 6'0 228 of Oklahoma State. All starters. I don't think we will ever see Hubbard in the CFL, the other two, quite possible.
Last year in this game I was excited watching the little Sooners QB Kyler Murray thinking he would be a great CFL QB. Back in the day QB's like him would be marked as a CFL type QB and not get a look in the NFL. But not anymore, the NFL are grabbing everybody with talent.
Oklahoma picked up an Alabama transfer QB Jalen Hurts 6'2 220 to replace Murray. Hurts who started for Bama as a Freshman left Alabama because they have a guy named Tua Tagovailoa 6'1 220 who is rated the top QB in the NCAA Div I this year.
Should be a great game.

Chuba Hubbard continues to be a top candidate in the Heisman Trophy race.

Quote:

---

Chuba Hubbard of the Oklahoma State Cowboys is on everyone's radar right now. ...
<section id="inread-wrapper-id-6" style="font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></section>With six games left in the season, the Sherwood Park product is in the Heisman Trophy conversation. ...

In the first game this season against Oregon State, the 20-year-old carried the ball 26 times for 221 yards and scored three touchdowns. He racked up 256 yards against Tulsa and another 296 against Kansas State. ...

He currently leads the NCAA with 1,094 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. J.K. Dobbins from Ohio State is next with 826 yards and six touchdowns.
"I'm just focused on winning games, and playing ball," Hubbard said, deflecting questions about having a shot at the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the most outstanding player in NCAA football, potentially turning pro after next spring's 2020 NFL Draft. ...

"To be honest, I don't know what's going to happen after this year," he said when asked if a jump to the NFL after this season is something he's thinking about. "I'm just focused on winning games. And then after that, you know, I'll figure out what I'm going to do." ...

It's that team-first attitude that caught the attention of high school coach Curtis Martin. Martin said Hubbard stood out as a peewee player with the Strathcona Sabrecats. "I remember watching the provincial final, his first year playing peewee," Martin said. "It was a 76-72 provincial final and Chuba scored every point for his team. And that's just unheard of at that age."
During his three years at Bev Facey Community High School, Hubbard rushed for 6,880 yards on 458 carries and scored 82 touchdowns. He still returns to Sherwood Park every summer. Martin said the young star remains connected to his roots. "There's kids saying they want to wear 30 when they get to high school, they want to go to Oklahoma State, they want to be the next Chuba Hubbard," said Martin. "It's going to be really cool to see what he does with the platform that his skills are giving him, especially if he makes it to the NFL level."

---

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...-nfl-1.5317144

Hubbard is now the top ranked college RB.

Quote:

---

He has rushed for 1,381 yards this season in eight games, an average of 172.6 yards per contest, and ranks second nationally with 16 rushing touchdowns heading into Saturday's home game against TCU. It's been enough to draw attention from former Oklahoma State and NFL star running back Barry Sanders, a Heisman Trophy winner. ...

"He congratulated me on how the season's going," Hubbard said. "I would have never thought in a million years that Barry Sanders would be congratulating me. It's cool." Hubbard has approached some of Sanders' numbers. He rushed for a career-high 296 yards in a win over Kansas State, one of three games this season in which he has rushed for at least 200 yards.

"He is a great football player," Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. "He can run through arm tackles, he gets his shoulders squared and then he'll outrun you. He is a dynamite player."

Against Tulsa, Hubbard broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. He blew past defenders who appeared to have an angle on him and crossed the goal line 10 seconds into the game. He finished the day with 256 yards and three touchdowns. He pounded out 171 yards on 32 carries against undefeated Baylor.

"Hubbard is amazing," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. "You never know how good someone is until you play them. He was hard to tackle."

It's quite a jump for a young man who grew up playing Canadian football. Hubbard hails from Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, Alberta. While many of his friends played hockey, he drifted toward track and football and competes in both at Oklahoma State. ...

Hubbard never saw being from Canada, or anything else, as a limitation. "For me, there's a lot of talented Canadian football players out there," he said. "I think that's often overlooked and that's one of the big reasons I'm proud that I came here, and proud that I'm showing Canadians can ball. It's different football, but at the end of the day, it's still football."

Though he watched the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos as a kid, he also grew up admiring NFL running back Adrian Peterson because of his durability and explosiveness. "When I used to watch him I used to think, 'That's a workhorse,'" Hubbard said. "When he's out there, he's like a bull — who can run a 4.3 (40-yard dash). Watching that guy, that was my hero. I always wanted to be like him." He is like Peterson in some ways. He has breakaway speed, which has allowed him to average 6.4 yards per carry. As for durability, he averages 27 carries per game. His powerful 6-foot-1, 207-pound frame handles punishment well— and he dishes it out, too. "

A lot of people when they first saw me here — really my whole life playing football — they just see me as that fast guy," he said. "I got involved with football because of the contact. I could have just stayed with track and ran but I like hitting and I like running through people. That's just stuff I love."

---

https://okcfox.com/sports/oklahoma-s...-rb-11-02-2019

https://i.imgur.com/RjIRyk8.jpg

Sherwood Park's Chuba Hubbard taking Heisman Trophy talk in stride
Former Bev Facey running back leads NCAA football in rushing yards
Min Dhariwal CBC News Oct 10, 2019

Chuba Hubbard is one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award given to the NCAA's best RB in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Quote:

---

Hubbard, a sophomore, is joined as a finalist by two juniors in Jonathan Taylor from the University of Wisconsin and J.K. Dobbins at Ohio State University. ...

Leading the nation in nearly every statistical rushing category, Hubbard has made a strong case to be the Doak Walker Award winner, as well as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

With two games remaining this season, Hubbard is on pace to finish with a top-10 rushing season in FBS history. His 11-game total of 1,832 rushing yards is greater than the 11-game totals of six of the past 12 running backs to win the Heisman Trophy since 1980. Hubbard leads the FBS in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, yards after contact (via Pro Football Focus), all-purpose yards, all-purpose yards per game and rushes of at least 20, 30. 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 yards. ...

When comparing Hubbard directly with the other two Doak Walker Award finalists, he leads the group in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns, explosive runs (20 yards or longer), yards after contact (via PFF), receiving yards, receiving yards per game, all-purpose yards and all-purpose yards per game, among many other statistics. He also is the best of the three when it comes to the highest percentage of his team’s total offensive output, the highest percentage of his team’s all-purpose yardage, the single-game rushing high and the single-game receiving high, as well as several other categories.

The Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee will cast a vote beginning on December 3 to select the 2019 award recipient, who will be announced live on The College Football Awards on December 12 on ESPN.

---

https://3downnation.com/2019/11/29/c...b-in-the-ncaa/

Chuba has just been selected Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

Jonathan Taylor won his second Doak Walker award beating out Chuba. Taylor had 1909 yards and 21 TDs while Hubbard finished just ahead of him with 1939 yards and tied in TDs with 21.

Chuba also lost out on the Heisman trophy, finishing eighth in the voting.

Quote:

---

Louisiana State University quarterback Joe Burrow has won the most coveted individual award in all of sports: the Heisman Trophy. Burrow beat out University of Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts, Ohio State University teammates, quarterback Justin Fields and defensive lineman Chase Young. Burrow, Fields and Young aren’t on a CFL negotiation list, yet, but Hurts is property of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. ...

Canadian running back Chuba Hubbard, who is from Sherwood Park, Alberta, was somehow not invited to the prestigious ceremony even though Hubbard led the NCAA in rushing yards with 1,936 and 21 touchdowns on the ground.

Quarterbacks have won the majority of Heisman’s since the year 2000 — 17 of the last 20 stiff-armed trophies. Burrow is the second Heisman winner from LSU and first since running back Billy Cannon in 1959. The 60-year gap between Heisman winners is the longest for any school with multiple recipients. ...

LSU’s signal caller threw for 4,715 yards, 48 touchdowns (Southeastern Conference single-season record) against six interceptions while completing 77.9 percent of his passes. Burrow added 289 yards and three rushing touchdowns. He led the Tigers to a perfect 13-0 record and SEC Championship during his senior season.

Hurts transferred from the University of Alabama and enjoyed the most productive year of his NCAA career alongside Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley. The six-foot-two, 218-pound QB hit on 71.8 percent of his pass attempts for 3,634 yards with 32 touchdowns against seven interceptions. The dual-threat athlete recorded 1,255 yards and 18 touchdowns with his feet — 5.7 yards per carry. He even caught two balls for 25 yards and one touchdown.

---

https://3downnation.com/2019/12/14/l...b-jalen-hurts/

Big article in the Sun on the other day on Chuba Hubbard. He is still mulling over should he enter the draft or wait another year. Big dollars available for 1st round picks now in the NFL. So if it looks like he is a first round pick I think it makes sense to take the money now instead of risking a severe injury staying another year at Oklahoma State. Most NFL running backs don't have long careers as it is because of the pounding they take. Hubbard seems to be quite durable though. Reminds me of former NFL great back Marcus Allen. About the same size (6'1 207) and speed (4.4). Will probably add a few pounds as he is only 20.

Chuba is using his new found prestige to bring about change on racial issues. He's also having more success than Kaepernick did initially because of the changing attitudes towards racial issues. When he demanded change because his coach wore a One America News Network (OAN) t-shirt, an extreme right wing news network that traffics in conspiracy theories, Trumpism and racism, Hubbard said he tweeted that he would not do anything for Oklahoma State until things change. HC Mike Gundy met with some of the players and said changes would occur. For his part Hubbard said it would have been better if he had talked to the coach first instead of tweeting first, but said there are important issues to resolve.

The University President supported Black players concerns.

The times they are a changing.

Quote:

---

Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy on Monday said he's "looking forward to making some changes" after his star running back called him out for wearing a T-shirt branded with the logo of a right-wing news outlet. The comment came just hours after Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State's running back, called out Gundy on Twitter for wearing a One America News network (OAN) T-shirt.

"I will not stand for this," Hubbard tweeted on Monday, linking to a photo of Gundy in the shirt. "This is completely insensitive to everything going on in society, and it's unacceptable. I will not be doing anything with Oklahoma State until things CHANGE."OAN has been regularly promoted by President Donald Trump on his Twitter feed because of how the channel frames him in a flattering light. The network offers viewers right-wing conspiracy theories and pro-Trump commentary mixed in with wire video news packages that are sometimes skewed to fit its editorial viewpoint. In a follow-up tweet Monday, Hubbard posted a video of him and Gundy addressing the public.

"In light of today's tweet with the T-shirt I was wearing, I met with some players and realized it's a very sensitive issue with what's going on in today's society," Gundy said. The coach said it was a great meeting, adding, "I'm looking forward to making some changes, and it starts at the top with me, and we've got good days ahead."

Hubbard, who in 2019 was named an unanimous All-American, Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, said he went about things the wrong way by tweeting. "That was bad on my part," Hubbard, who finished eighth in voting for the Heisman Trophy, said, "but from now on we're going to focus on bringing change, and that's the most important thing." Hubbard added in another tweet, "No don't get it twisted. Foots still on the gas. Results are coming. It's not over." ...

After posting his initial tweet, Hubbard received support from teammate and team captain Amen Ogbongbemiga as well as current Baltimore Ravens running back Justice Hill. "OSU Athletics and University need major change. 100% support brotha," tweeted Hill, who played at OSU from 2016-2018 under Gundy.

Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis quickly addressed the situation Monday evening, tweeting, "I hear and respect the concerns expressed by our Black student-athletes. This is a time for unity of purpose to confront racial inequities and injustice. We will not tolerate insensitive behavior by anyone at Oklahoma State."

---

https://3downnation.com/2020/06/15/o...shirt-picture/

After Hubbard complained that he would not play for Oklahoma State University until Mike Gundy's wearing of far-right OAN News Network t-shirt was addressed, a university review led to Gundy salary cut by a million dollars.

Quote:

---

Oklahoma State University head football coach Mike Gundy has been disciplined for a photo wearing a One America News T-shirt.

Stadium NCAA football insider Brett McMurphy reports: Mike Gundy’s contract shortened from 5-year rollover to 4-years w/pay cut after internal review, sources told Stadium. In 2019 Gundy made $5.125M. Review launched after RB Chuba Hubbard tweeted “I will not be doing anything w/OSU until things CHANGE” after Gundy wore OAN T-shirt. Mike Gundy’s pay cut was $1 million. “Changes were offered up by Mike Gundy. It was his idea,” OSU AD Mike Holder said.

Launched in 2013, OAN is a far-right news network that openly supports United States President Donald Trump. The organization has been criticized for reporting falsehoods and perpetuating conspiracy theories in its programming. Gundy apologized after two days of fallout in June for wearing the OAN T-shirt.

Gundy has been the head coach at Oklahoma State since 2005, posting a record of 129-64. The Cowboys went 8-4 in 2019 before dropping the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl to Texas A&M University by a score of 24-21.

---

https://3downnation.com/2020/07/03/o...g-oan-t-shirt/

Hubbard was taken in the fourth round at #126 overall of the NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers, after falling off from his 2019 season's 2,094 rushing yard season to 677 yards in 2020.