Canada’s Chuba Hubbard Has College Football’s Full Attention

A lot of different people expect Hubbard to be a lot of different things, especially following the events of this summer.

A great football player. A great leader. Someone who is outspoken. Someone who represents Oklahoma State University and someone who represents Canada. Hubbard says he is comfortable with those expectations, though.

“No, it doesn’t weigh on me. It’s just who I am. It comes with what I do. So, I take pride in that. I try to do my best to represent everyone and everything very well. You know, sometimes I make mistakes. That’s just life. I’ve got to live and learn. I have learned a lot over the last few months especially,” Hubbard said. “I realized that some people don’t like what I do, some people do like what I do, but all that matters is I am what I am. Chuba Hubbard. That’s who I am and I can’t be something that I’m not.”

Part of Hubbard’s decision to publicly display such a strong stance is his need to have a positive impact. That is something that came from his childhood. His parents separated when he was young and his mother Candace raised him and his three siblings while working through nursing school. Candace’s selflessness left a lasting mark on her son, as did the countless people who looked out for him growing up.

“It would be hard for me to name just one thing, because there are so many things that people have done for me. My family has had its struggles and I see the way my mom… worked to help give us the best life. See everyone work and work, and just keep working and not really care about themselves but put other people before them,” Hubbard said. 

“It really just opened my eyes. It wasn’t even [just] them. I had coaches. I had a lot of people that have kind of taken me under their wing and try to help me succeed and be there for me. I realize a lot of people don’t get that. That’s what the world is missing, I feel like a lot of the time. Just somebody that cares and somebody that is empathetic, and all that. I just want to be that for some people. I want to try to have an impact on the world in a positive manner.”

Oklahoma State is currently the 13th-ranked team in the nation with a 5-1 record. The Big 12 has been dominated by their arch rivals—the Oklahoma University Sooners—for years. The Sooners picked up two early losses, though, and the Cowboys seem poised to finally make a run at the conference for the first time since 2011.

Hubbard is the focal point of the Oklahoma State offence, as he was a season ago. He is the team’s most explosive playmaker and the man opposing defences will be most focused on slowing down throughout the fall.

“I don’t think about that too much. I just think about do the best you can and do what you can. I don’t try to do anything more than what I am capable of or try do something that someone else is trying to do,” Hubbard said. “I don’t try to put too much on myself or anyone else. I just play football.”