Football Notes: Chuba Hubbard Not Concerned About Heisman Buzz

STILLWATER — Big 12 play hasn’t even started yet, and a few Cowboys are already mentioned in the same breath as national awards.

Members of the Oklahoma State football team met with the media after practice Tuesday. Here are some of the topics discussed.

Hubbard Not Concerned with Heisman Chatter

Chuba Hubbard’s NCAA-leading 521 rushing yards and seven touchdowns through three games have got people talking.

If Hubbard could keep up this absurd pace, he’s on track for one of the greatest seasons for a college football running back ever. With that comes talk of national awards like the Doak Walker and the Heisman Trophy, but Hubbard said he isn’t worried about all of that.

“I don’t know out here about this Heisman stuff,” Hubbard said. “I’m looking forward to winning games. I’m not really focused on all that stuff. If that happens, it happens. I’ll be blessed to be in that position, but the biggest thing for me is winning games and living every day with my teammates.”

Hubbard said he’s more concerned that the Cowboys are 3-0 through three games, and his sights are set on team hardware.

“Two of my main goals were a Big 12 championship and national championship,” Hubbard said. “We’ve got a couple wins down, so I guess we’re going the right direction.”

Wilson on Running After Teammates

In Hubbard’s first touchdown run Saturday, OSU center Johnny Wilson blocked three people.

Hubbard got a lot of praise for scoring on the first play from scrimmage (as he should), but thanks to work from Wilson and the rest of his blockers, Hubbard dashed through Chapman Stadium after only getting tapped on the back with a few fingers.

Wilson and the OSU offensive linemen then trudged their 300+-pound bodies down the field and celebrated as if it were them carrying the ball into the end zone.

“Oh yeah, we all get fired up and sprint down there,” Wilson said. “Us big guys running 70 yards to go celebrate with him in the end zone. It’s worth it. It’s fun.”

Amen Ogbongbemiga on Last Season’s Preparation Paying Off

At the media golf outing this summer, OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said one of his goals last season was to make sure Amen Ogbongbemiga was ready for this season.

Knowles knew he had only one season with Justin Phillips before he would need a new body in the middle of his defense. Ogbongbemiga had 28 career tackles before this season, a solid number, but Phillips had 98 tackles in 2018 alone. So, Ogbongbemiga had some work to do.

“It was kinda stressful because Coach Knowles was always getting after me,” Ogbongbemiga said. “Sometimes it would get to me, but I always told myself just keep working, one day it’s gonna pay off. I’m glad to see it’s finally paying off, but I just can’t stop working. I just gotta keep going and keep progressing and keep working on my game.”

That time as a starter-in-waiting seems to have paid off to this point. Ogbongbemiga is second on the team with 25 total tackles this year. His 3.5 sacks are also more than the rest of the Cowboys have together.

“He put a lot of trust into me, and I’m glad he did,” Ogbongbemiga said. “I hope to keep impressing him and keep doing things well.”