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WEST VALLEY PREPS

NEVER A DOUBT

Big schools stay after Darvon Hubbard, who signed with Texas A&M

Posted 2/24/20

Not even a senior season injury or fewer games in the spotlight after a transfer out of Chaparral caused Darvon Hubbard concern during his recruitment.

 

After all, if powerhouse programs …

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WEST VALLEY PREPS

NEVER A DOUBT

Big schools stay after Darvon Hubbard, who signed with Texas A&M

Posted
Not even a senior season injury or fewer games in the spotlight after a transfer out of Chaparral caused Darvon Hubbard concern during his recruitment.
 
After all, if powerhouse programs like LSU and Texas A&M make trips to Surprise and repeatedly show their interest, why worry?
 
While the celebration was a bit subdued by modern standards, the running back brought a bit of the big time to Willow Canyon on signing day Feb. 5. There was a bit of mystery about his choice until he pulled out an A&M hat.
 
“I always wanted to know where I was signing to and how I would say it. So it was definitely a dream come true and a weight off my shoulders. I can only thank God for that moment. Hopefully, some of the kids out here get to experience that,” Hubbard said.
 
Hubbard started at the school in November 2018 and four months later, he decided to reopen his recruitment. The Ohio native decommitted from Ohio State.
 
He made the verbal commitment after his sophomore season in Scottsdale.
Then coach Urban Meyer stepped down and Hubbard’s perspective changed.
 
“It was mostly the coaching change. And I felt like I didn’t go and visit a lot of different schools since I committed so early. So I wanted to see all my options,” Hubbard said.
 
Willow Canyon coach Justin Stangler has been part of the program for about a decade. And the spring 2019 recruiting period was unlike anything this school in west Surprise has seen.
 
Film told the 15-plus major Division I schools that Hubbard was a big-time back. But the trips to Arizona convinced universities that he was at a college level off the field too.
 
“We had three dozen schools or whatever it was. Basically, they just wanted to know what he was like at school, what was he like as a leader and what was his attitude like. It was not like, ‘Can we look at film?’ And a lot of schools commented on that he did better things this year than last, with the way he was running,” Stangler said. “He checks all the boxes. After his visit at A&M, their running backs coach flew out and Coach Fisher. They all wanted to know ... is he what’s advertised? I know the Texas A&M players were enamored with him and the coaching staff was intrigued with his level of maturity.”
 
Purdue offered him this fall but cooled off during the fall after receiving the commitment of another running back. Hubbard said some schools wanted an early fall commitment while others preferred to wait.
 
Utah showed consistent interest, and it was mutual.
 
“During the season I was really leaning toward Utah. I had a great relationship with coach Mac up there. He’s been recruiting me since the beginning of my sophomore year when I moved out to Arizona. But they got somebody that committed and we had to go our separate ways,” Hubbard said.
 
Hubbard started the season with 294 yards in his first three games. But a foot injury in game four against Valley Vista put the brakes on his season.
 
He missed most of four games. But during that time, nothing he heard from the schools gave him reason for concern.

 
“The injury didn’t worry me at all. I knew that I had a future ahead that I had to stay healthy for. And the college coaches knew that,” Hubbard said.
 
Though he grew up in Akron and enjoyed Big Ten football growing up, the recruiting process caused his eyes to wander to the SEC.
 
Along with LSU and Texas A&M, Hubbard received offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
 
“I always thought I would end up in the Big Ten to tell you the truth. But when all those SEC schools came calling, it became harder to say no,” Hubbard said.
 
The Aggies offered him at the end of his junior year.
 
Hubbard said he was supposed to visit LSU after Texas A&M but was sold on A&M during his visit.
 
“Once I visited Texas A&M I knew it was the place for me. The coaching staff was great, the top coaching staff in the country. Jimbo Fisher is one of the winningest coaches in all of college football,” Hubbard said. “I thought that was going to be the place for me to become not only a better football player but a better person there. They have a great education and great connections with the Aggie Network. I want to be well off after football.”
 
He said he could wind up majoring in engineering, sports management or sports training.
 
Stangler said he talked with Hubbard every couple weeks during the signing period and advised him to go where he was wanted, rather than worrying about a school’s name recognition.
 
The coach said Division I schools noticed other kids while here recruiting Hubbard.
 
While both coach and player wanted the ceremony pretty low key, the magnitude of the commitment made for a buzz on signing day.
 
“It was cool that his whole family was there. It was big but it was intimate,” Stangler said.
 
Rather than shutting it down until he gets to College Station, Hubbard is sprinting for the Wildcats’ track team.
 
He said it can only help prepare for college football, and he can help get some of the school’s best athletes ready for what’s next.
 
“I feel like I owe some of the coaches and the kids here to come back and run track. We should have a pretty good 4x100 and I want to challenge some of the kids out here to be faster. They’re challenging me every day,” Hubbard said.