Hubert ready to make some noise

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This article was published 11/07/2024 (463 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was the eighth and final round of the 2024 CFL Draft and Owen Hubert was still waiting for his phone to ring.

Things looked so bleak his parents started switching off the lights in the house to get ready for bed when finally, around midnight, the defensive end out of McMaster University was selected by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 73rd overall — the second-last pick of the draft.

“Quite frankly, it was disappointing. I thought ‘OK, so be it, I’m gonna be an undrafted guy and I’m gonna go earn a spot.’ Well, sure enough, Winnipeg comes up and my name pops up — we had it on the TV — and everyone was ecstatic, and we were jumping up and down,” Hubert said after Thursday’s walkthrough.

“My brother made a comment ‘You know what, if you’re gonna go second last, you could’ve gone last and made it that much more cool.’”

Considering his draft position, just making the squad would’ve been a cool story in itself, but six weeks into his career, the 6-4, 263-pounder from Norwood, Ont., — who is the lone eighth rounder on the roster — has been given a chance to show what he can do as he’ll start for the Bombers (1-4) Friday night against the visiting Calgary Stampeders (2-2) at 7:30 p.m.

The Bombers are paper thin at the position with both Celestin Haba and TyJuan Garbutt on the six-game injured list, and American Ali Fayad released earlier this week to make room for veteran receiver Lucky Whitehead.

Hubert, 24, has five tackles in three games this year as a rotational piece.

“Usually when you see your name on that starting spot, you’re kind of freaking out. But quite frankly, the past three weeks, I might not have been that starter, but I’ve been contributing what I can on specials and on defence,” said Hubert, who had five sacks in eight games at his final season at McMaster.

“Going into this one, I’m going into it just like any other game. I’m going in with confidence in my ability and our defence to take on Calgary here.”

It’s starting to become a weekly tradition where Willie Jefferson is asked about a young defender on the opposite end of the D-line. Jefferson hasn’t missed a game, but there’s been zero consistency with the other DE job as Hubert is now the fourth player to start there.

“It’s his opportunity,” said Jefferson, who has two sacks, seven tackles, and a forced fumble through five games.

“Been some great Canadian defensive ends come through this league. Now’s his time to show it. Put his name on that list. And it doesn’t matter what round he got drafted in or when he got drafted. He has the opportunity to come out here and be the starting defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and make some plays.”

He comes from an athletic family as his younger brother, Silas, is a standout defensive end at Queen’s who is already a top prospect for next year’s CFL Draft after winning the OUA’s lineman of the year award in 2022. Their mother, Kris (nee Dupps), played basketball at the University of Illinois in the early ‘90s and their dad, Patrick, was a semi-pro football player.

“The thing I like most is just how competitive we are and how much they drive me to be better and do better. I could come home and say ‘Hey, I felt like I had a good game. I had this many tackles and a tackle for a loss here and stuff.’ And they’ll be like ‘Oh, why didn’t you get that sack?’” said Hubert.

“At the end of the day, it’s all love and I love that. It’s kind of gotten me to where I am now so I have that kind of mindset thanks to them.”

The starting gig will likely go to Garbutt once he’s healthy (which should be soon), but Hubert can make some noise while it’s his. His draft stock suffered thanks to a subpar performance at the combine, but if he shows he can play, he’ll be yet another reminder that numbers and measurables aren’t everything.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt… Definitely, the result has driven me to kind of defy maybe some of the traditional outcomes or conventions that maybe a later round guy might take part of,” said Hubert.

“It certainly has been driving me, but at the same time, I didn’t care where I was gonna get drafted… I was willing to come in and work and earn a spot regardless.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31