Chuba Hubbard Isn’t Better Than Justice Hill, Right?

Millennials.

There was a spirited debate in our Slack chat today involving Chuba Hubbard and Justice Hill. Some of our (very talented but wildly misinformed) writers were trying to prop up Chuba as the greater Justice like he was Jesus to Abraham. Quotes like the following:

• I might slowly be crawling on the Chuba > Justice wagon.
• All aboard!
• Any play that doesn’t include Chuba is one I don’t want to be a part of.

Please. Look, I get the numbers. They’re good (they’re really good). Through their first ~70 collegiate carries, Chuba looks better than Justice on paper.

Justice Hill through his first 69 collegiate carries: 346 yards, 2 TDs, 5.0 YPC

Chuba Hubbard through his first 67 collegiate carries: 419 yards, 5 TDs, 6.3 YPC

— Pistols Firing (@pistolsguys) November 16, 2018

But there are two things going on here that might skew the numbers. First, Chuba is in his second year as a college athlete. Justice put up 1,142 on 5.5 yards a carry in his first. Chuba doesn’t have to be the featured back because Justice exists. It’s like saying J.R. Smith is better than LeBron because he sits in the corner and hits 3s with five people hanging on LeBron’s back.

Ok, it’s not exactly like that, but I want to see Chuba have to carry it 20 times a game and watch him be the best player on a field that includes the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft before we crown him.

As for these millennial writers at PFB, I ride with Mike Gundy when he says this: “We allow liberalism to say, ‘Hey I can just do what I want, and I don’t have to really be tough and fight through it.’”

I can just say what I want. I don’t really have to put thought into it and recognize reality and that Justice is probably the third best back in OSU history.

Also me. ⬇️

I’m kidding of course. I love the debate, and we’ve all had a lot of fun with it. I also think Chuba is spectacular and can’t wait to see what he and Justice do in Yurcich’s two-back sets next season with Spencer Sanders manning the S.S. Poke.