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33 DAYS TO KICKOFF: John Hubert

In which BracketCat counts down the 33rd day until kickoff with a profile of running back John Hubert.

To me, this was the definitive play of 2012. I knew the game was over when John Hubert scored, and I knew we would win the Big 12 if we could knock of Oklahoma in Norman. Here's to many more such moments this year.
To me, this was the definitive play of 2012. I knew the game was over when John Hubert scored, and I knew we would win the Big 12 if we could knock of Oklahoma in Norman. Here's to many more such moments this year.
Brett Deering
JohnHubert

#33 John Hubert
Redshirt Senior
5-7 | 191
Waco, Texas

Bio

Position: Running Back

Previous College: None

Projection: Starter

Status: On Scholarship

John Hubert (b. Feb. 24, 1991) once was the forgotten man of the running back competition, but that status didn't last long once 2011 was under way. Now he's a Doak Walker Award candidate for the second straight year.

Somewhere between the thoroughly unfulfilled hype of Bryce Brown and the still-unseen potential of DeMarcus Robinson, there is the man who broke LaDainian Tomlinson's high school single-season rushing record.

Anyone who watched Hubert's recruiting videos in 2009 knew Bill Snyder found a steal. All Hubert did in those videos was break long touchdown run after long touchdown run. He has deceptive speed and endless tenacity.

Hubert doesn't amass huge numbers — he has yet to exceed 1,000 yards in a season — but within his 1,917 yards in the last two years, he had a knack for breaking off big runs when we needed them most to sustain drives.

Who could forget the big run against Miami late in the 2011 game to regain the lead for good? Or his 47-yard TD run against Iowa State later that year where he just willed himself into the end zone?

And no one ever could forget the touchdown run last year that sealed the deal at Oklahoma. Or the four he pounded in against Kansas. Or that three that put the punctuation on another beatdown of Texas.

In two seasons as Collin Klein's wingman, Hubert rushed for 73.7 yards per game, just shy of Klein's 79.3, and he posted an eye-popping 4.9 yards per carry because defenses were so focused on Klein.

It's not lack of effectiveness that limits Hubert's total yardage. It's his touches. Those should rise this season.

No, he's not the fastest RB on the roster, nor the biggest or strongest, but more than anything, Hubert is the most consistent. If there's one thing Snyder values above all, it's consistency, and Hubert has that in spades.

Here's to a terrific senior sendoff for one of the players who has been crucial in the Snyder 2.0 Renaissance.