FLEET-FOOTED HUBBARD DRAWS HEISMAN CHATTER
Running back from Alberta shows he belongs with best in NCAA football
Watching my grandson playing football from peewee through to high school, I repeatedly saw some kid by the name of Chuba Hubbard run past him and his teammates like they were spectators who had wandered out onto the field.
Now he and those kids in Sherwood Park, Alta., can grow up to tell their grandchildren that they once played against him.
On Sept. 28, Hubbard — wearing No. 30 for the Oklahoma State Cowboys — ran past every running back in the history of the famed college football running back factory in Stillwater, Okla., other than the legendary Barry Sanders.
With 156 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a Big 12 conference game at Texas Tech, Hubbard became the fastest Oklahoma State running back to reach 1,000 yards in a season since Sanders.
Hubbard did it in six games. Sanders did it in five back in 1988.
Sanders’ spectacular season 31 years ago is still considered one of the greatest individual campaigns in U.S. college football history. That year he rushed for 2,850 yards and 42 touchdowns in 12 games and won the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding NCAA player in the nation.
He went on to become an NFL most valuable player with 10 straight seasons as a Pro Bowl player with the Detroit Lions.
Hubbard has not only put his name in the same sentence as Sanders, but another legendary Oklahoma State running back, Thurman Thomas, later of the Buffalo Bills, who also went on to be enshrined in both the college and pro football halls of fame.
While the Cowboys suffered a 45-35 loss in Saturday’s game to drop to 4-2, Hubbard came out of the weekend as the top rusher in the nation with 1,094 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Last year, as a freshman, he had 740 yards rushing and seven touchdowns before bursting into national prominence on New Year’s Eve in Memphis, when he rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown to lead the Pokes to a 38-33 win over Missouri in the Liberty Bowl.
This year, Hubbard ran for 296 yards versus Kansas State, 121 against Texas and 256 against Tulsa and would have had a much larger total had he not been restricted to a cameo appearance (eight carries for 44 yards) in a 56-14 win over minnow McNeese State.
Nobody else is within 200 yards of Hubbard and he has one more touchdown than anybody else as well.
The 296 yards against Kansas State ranked behind only Sanders and David Thompson in Oklahoma State history. The crowd gave him a standing ovation at Boone Pickens Stadium and chanted “Chuba! Chuba! Chuba!”
Hubbard isn’t being made available for many interviews and you sense there’s a lot of Heisman image control involved with the in-house ones he’s done.
About the 296 yards against Kansas State: “Obviously, the offensive line has been doing a great job. The coaches have been making the right calls. Anyone could be in there and do what I did. I’m happy to be in the position I’m in and I’m happy we got the win.”
About the fans chanting his name: “It was awesome. We have great fans. I appreciate all the love. I wouldn’t say it was just for me, I think it was for our offence, really.”
About coming to Stillwater and having this happen to a kid from Canada: “I’ve worked hard all my life to put myself in a good position to help my family … I’m blessed to be in this position I’m in. God led me to this destination and I’m forever thankful.”
About being in the same sentence as Barry Sanders: “I wouldn’t even say I’m close to Barry Sanders or anything. People are going a little over the top with that. I just try to give my best every single day.”
Headline in the Oklahoman: “Can Chuba Hubbard have a real shot at the Heisman?”
OTHER CONTENDERS
It’s early yet, but the names under consideration appear to be Hubbard, Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama, Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma and Joe Burrow of Louisiana State.
About being a Heisman candidate: “It’s cool. I’m blessed it’s happening. But I just want to win.”
It’s only halfway through the schedule. The Cowboys have a bye this week, then finish up with Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Christian, Kansas, West Virginia and the “Bedlam” rivalry game at home against the Oklahoma Sooners.
While OSU is protecting him pretty well right now amid all this Heisman talk, Chase Avery — a linebacker playing university football in Canada who is Hubbard’s best friend from back home in Sherwood Park — said it hasn’t affected anything with him and his buddies.
“He’s still super modest. He still talks to any one of us from back home. He isn’t letting it get to his head how big of a star he actually is now. He treats everybody like he always has. I’m heading down Nov. 30 for the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game. Last year, that was the first game he got in and really showcased his talent. I just can’t wait to see what he does in that game this year.”