Oklahoma State Football: Chuba Hubbard primed for a big freshman season in 2017

Dec 29, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys running back Justice Hill (27) celebrates with wide receiver Chris Lacy (15) after scoring on a 37-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes during the 2016 Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Oklahoma State defeated Colorado 38-8. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys running back Justice Hill (27) celebrates with wide receiver Chris Lacy (15) after scoring on a 37-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes during the 2016 Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. Oklahoma State defeated Colorado 38-8. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The soon to be freshman running back for Oklahoma State Chuba Hubbard looks primed for a big freshman season to fill the backup role behind Justice Hill.

The Oklahoma State football team has a good freshman class coming in after the 2017 National Signing Day. One of the best recruits in the 2017 class is three-star Canadian running back, Chuba Hubbard. The other running back committed to OK State is three-star J.D. King. However, Hubbard would likely be ranked as a four-star recruit if he was not from the North of the border. He did not get the same exposure as a running back would be from the state of Texas.

With the loss of former running back Chris Carson, the Pokes need to find a replacement to back up starting running back and rising sophomore Justice Hill. Carson helped OK State have one of the best running back duos in college football down the stretch in 2016. Moreover, Hill is the first 1,000-yard rusher for the Cowboys since Joseph Randle 2012. And he was the first freshman running back to rush for 1,000 yards since NFL Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas back in the 1980s.

Everything is in place for the OK State offense to be one of the best in college football in 2017. Quarterback

Mason Rudolph

and wide receiver

James Washington

return for their senior seasons at OK State. Hill also returns alongside an all-star cast of wide receivers even outside of Washington. Hubbard gets the perfect opportunity to shine early in the season with his Olympic speed alongside an improving offensive line that only loses one starter.

Hubbard will have to compete with a few players on the OK State roster for the second spot on the depth chart at running back. The first name that jumps out is rising junior Jeff Carr who got some playing time as a freshman in 2015, but did not play too much in 2016. Meanwhile, King is more of a run between the tackles back instead of an elusive one-cut speed guy like Hubbard. But, King will also compete for carries if he’s not redshirted.

Next: Oklahoma State Baseball: Cowboys ranked 18th in Baseball America 2017 Preseason Poll

You can view the entire 2017 recruiting class for OK State here.