Chuba Robert-Shamar Hubbard (; born June 11, 1999) is a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

, where he was a

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

, named the

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

Offensive Player of the Year and won the Jon Cornish Trophy in 2019. Hubbard was selected by the Panthers in the fourth round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

Early life

Born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

to a Nigerian father and Canadian mother, Hubbard later moved to

Sherwood Park Sherwood Park is a large hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Strathcona County that is recognized as an urban service area. It is adjacent to the City of Edmonton's eastern boundary. While long confined to generally south of Highway 16 ( Ye ...

, and attended Bev Facey Community High School, where he played

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

. During his three years, he rushed for 6,880 yards on 458 attempts with 82

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He committed to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

to play

in the United States.

College career

After redshirting his first year at Oklahoma State in 2017, Hubbard played in 13 games in 2018 and had 740 rushing yards on 124 carries with seven touchdowns. He returned as Oklahoma State's starting running back in 2019 and had a stellar year rushing for 2,094 yards on 328 carries and 21 touchdowns. Despite speculation that he would declare for the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

after this season, Hubbard announced that he would return to school for his redshirt junior year. He was awarded the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

football for the season. In June 2020, Hubbard threatened to boycott the football team and any affiliation with the university after a photo surfaced showing Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy wearing a T-shirt promoting the One America News Network (OAN), a

far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

news channel. Gundy subsequently issued an apology, saying he was disgusted by OAN's coverage of the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

movement. Hubbard eventually apologized for the way he handled the situation.

College statistics

Professional career

Hubbard was selected by the

in the fourth round (126th overall) of the

. He was also selected by the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

in the fifth round (43rd overall) of the 2021 CFL Draft before signing a four-year contract, worth $4.2 million, with the Panthers on May 6, 2021. Hubbard made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the 2021 season against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. In Week 5, against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, he had 24 carries for 101 rushing yards in the 21–18 loss. He finished the 2021 season with 172 carries for 612 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to go along with 25 receptions for 174 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 17 games and ten starts. In Week 16 of the 2022 season, Hubbard had 12 carries for 125 rushing yards in a 37–23 victory over the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He finished the 2022 season with 95 carries for 466 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with 14 receptions for 171 receiving yards in 15 games and two starts. At the beginning of the 2023 season, Hubbard was listed as second on the depth chart behind new addition Miles Sanders. In Week 1, Hubbard recorded nine carries for 60 yards. Hubbard assumed the starting position in Week 6 against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

when Sanders was ruled out and carried the ball nineteen times for 88 yards and a touchdown, the best performance by a Panthers running back in the season. Despite Sanders' return, Hubbard continued in the starting role. In Week 12 against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, Hubbard had 14 carries for 45 yards and a touchdown, as well as reeling in 5 catches for 47 yards as the Panthers went on to lose 17–10. The following week against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

, Hubbard ran 25 times for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 21–18 loss. In the Panthers' Week 17 loss to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, Hubbard reached 1,000 scrimmage yards for the first time in his NFL career. On November 7, 2024, the Panthers signed Hubbard to a four-year, $33.2 million extension, with $15 million guaranteed. In the Panthers' Week 12 loss to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, Hubbard reached 1,000 scrimmage yards for the second straight season. In Week 16, Hubbard ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-30 overtime win over the Arizona Cardinals, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. On December 28, Hubbard was place on injured reserve with knee and calf injuries, ending his season. In 15 starts for Carolina, he totaled 1,195 rushing yards, 171 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioOklahoma State Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard, Chuba 1999 births Living people American football running backs Black Canadian players of American football Canadian players of American football Black Canadian sportsmen Canadian people of Nigerian descent Oklahoma State Cowboys football players All-American college football players Carolina Panthers players Jon Cornish Trophy winners Players of American football from Alberta