CANADIAN COWBOYS

COWBOY COUNTRY stretches across the United States, and in recent years, the reach of Oklahoma State has found its way up into the “GREAT WHITE NORTH.”

Specifically, two current Cowboy football stars — running back Chuba Hubbard and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga — have shown that the talented, hard-working student-athletes that OSU desires can be found all across the North American continent.

Ogbongbemiga and Hubbard officially joined the Oklahoma State family in 2016 and 2017, respectively. But the relationship that the Alberta natives have, and the similar experiences they shared on their journeys to Stillwater, date back much further than their first night under Oklahoma skies. Both Cowboys began competing in organized football when they were in sixth grade and quickly fell in love with the game that would take them to places far and wide.

Three Countries, One Amazing Journey

Amen Ogbongbemiga wasn’t always the Canadian football star that Cowboy fans know him as today.

Long before he was known for crunching tackles, earning a starring role on special teams and sacking former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray during last year’s Bedlam game, Ogbongbemiga was just a kid that found himself in three different homes during three different phases of his life.

Originally born in Lagos, Nigeria, he and his family moved to Houston in 2003, then to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 2011 when he was 13 years old.

“It was a different experience for me moving from country to country,” Ogbongbemiga said.

“I don’t remember much of Nigeria, to be honest. Growing up in Houston, that’s what I really call home because that was the first place I remember. After that, it was a big change moving to Canada because of the weather, the different people and atmosphere and things like that.

“I always enjoyed being in different places though. It was good for me to experience that.”

Football was an anchor for the young Ogbongbemiga, as the game traveled with him from Texas to Canada, albeit with a slightly altered rule book.

“Football really helped me moving to Canada because it helped me with making new connections,” Ogbongbemiga said. “It made it very easy to find new people to socialize with. I socialized and bonded with people quickly because it’s a sport where you have to work with people, regardless of difference.”

Canadian football holds many of the same qualities that American football does, just with some slight tweaks to its setup and execution.

The biggest difference between the two is the most obvious — the size of the field.

Canadian football fields are 110 yards long and 65 yards wide (10 yards longer and 11.67 yards wider than the American footprint).

The goal posts in the northern game are also placed at the front of the end zone instead of the back. There are 12 players on the field at once, instead of 11, and three downs for the offense instead of four.

There’s also the offensive motion rule in which a player can be moving toward the line of scrimmage at the snap, putting an extra strain on defenders like Ogbongbemiga.

The differences, along with adjusting to life in a new country, could be overwhelming for most, but Amen had a tremendous support system guiding him through it all, led by his brother, Alex Ogbongbemiga

“(Amen) has always been a wonderful kid. He was quiet but had passion and loved football,”

Alex said. “A lot of younger brothers are heavily influenced by their older siblings. With me being the oldest, I knew I wanted to set a good example for him. I stayed out of trouble, didn’t do drugs or anything like that. The older we got, the closer we became, and it got to the point where anything I did he would participate in, too. Eventually, we always ended up doing the same things.”

Alex played football at the University of Houston before playing three seasons at the University of Calgary, where he recorded 26.5 tackles and helped UC win back-to-back-toback Hardy Cups as Canada West champions from 2011-13. He has also played for three franchises in the Canadian Football League, most recently signing a free agent contract with the BC Lions in the summer of 2017.

His influence over his brother was a powerful one, and it was a key part in shaping Amen and his future.

“Amen was just a small kid that loved video games and was really smart in school growing up,” Alex said. “He loves his family, cares about them and has always been a good kid. We’ve always been very, very close. Funny enough, when he comes back to Calgary, he still sleeps in my room. He’s got his own room, but we’re just that close.”

The Ogbongbemiga brothers’ close relationship helped guide Amen throughout the various stages of his life as he always had a daily demonstration of how to be successful, thanks to his older brother. There is no better illustration of that than the classroom. Amen, an accounting major, is already a two-time academic all-Big 12 first team selection entering his junior season.

“You never know what the outcome of your life is going to be, but for Amen, he sort of had the answers to the test and got them before the test,” Alex said. “I passed along everything I knew about recruiting, what it took to get the next level. I shared that with him, and it helped him a lot I think.”

“(Alex) always taught me to never be complacent,” Amen said. “There’s always someone working harder than you, and you have to have that mentality to succeed. He ingrained little things into my routine, and that’s helped me be successful up to this point.”

Sprinting Toward Success

Chuba Hubbard, a speedster from Sherwood Park, Alberta, has always been a dynamic figure for opponents and spectators.

He first got into football when he was in sixth grade after a friend who lived down the street from his grandfather piqued the track star’s interest. His straight-line running ability lent itself quickly to the gridiron game, and he really only needed to run two plays to be successful — the wide receiver reverse and taking the snap out of the ‘Wildcat’ formation.

Before he picked up his first pigskin, Hubbard blazed past his competition on the track, where he was a three-time national champion for his age group in the 100 meters and a former competitor at the IAAF World Youth Championships.

But that first day with his friends on the football field flipped the script of Hubbard’s life for the years that followed.

“I just remember how much fun I had playing football growing up and was always just enjoying it with my friends,” Hubbard said of his early football memories. “You’re so innocent when you’re young, and you don’t have any worries. I was just enjoying the game and learning a new sport.”

Unlike Ogbongbemiga, Canadian football was all Hubbard ever knew. He was born and raised in Canada and became a national star.

During three seasons at Bev Facey Community High School, Hubbard amassed 6,880 rushing yards on 458 attempts and scored 82 touchdowns. His senior season was cut short due to injury, but he still managed to tally 2,330 yards with 23 touchdowns in 14 games for coach Curtis Martin . He was named to the All-Canadian first team and was his league’s most valuable player.

Hubbard also was a dynamic performer for the Canadian national team, leading the squad to a 42-0 victory over the United States in a January 2015 Under-15 International Bowl matchup. He rushed for three touchdowns and earned MVP honors for the game.

“For me, adjusting to football was just a bunch of little things that all kind of add up,” Hubbard said. “I had to learn about defenses and stuff. There was learning about kickoffs, which coverage you’re in and stuff like that, but the transition wasn’t too bad.”

“Chuba was always a very motivated child and always has been. He was a quiet child, but he loved his sports,” Candace Hubbard , Chuba’s mother, said about her son. “He had done track since he was six and was still motivated to be the very best that he could when he started playing football. It was stressful for him at times trying to do sports, get good grades and still be a child all at the same time.”

Chuba’s support system helped him immensely throughout his time growing up in Canada, and that rings especially true for his mother’s influence on him. Candace’s guidance helped shape her son, and no moment better illustrates that influence than when Chuba, a “cocky little kid” as he described himself, visited Hershey, Pa., to display his immense track and field talents at the North American Final. “I was one of the fastest in Canada and went there thinking I was going to win this event and blow it out of the water,” Hubbard said. “I thought I was invincible, and I went there and got smoked. I started crying to my mom. She said I had to work hard, and that when you fail you’ve got to keep going. I told her that I was going to come back and win. In 2012, I did go back and ended up winning.”

“He’s a very humble young man, and he works so hard for what he achieves,” Candace said. “He doesn’t always want the recognition that comes from his success; he just does the best he can all the time. Chuba is a wonderful young man, and we always just tell him to stay humble and to be true to himself.”

Chuba Hubbard used that work ethic to his advantage, and others took notice of his success on the track and the gridiron, including the Ogbongbemigas.

“(Amen) came home one day — it was the first time he had played against Chuba — and he said, ‘Wow. I just played against a guy who has got it. They both have it,” Alex said. “After I watched Chuba play, I reached out to him and tried to share with him the same things that I did with Amen.”

Little did Chuba and Amen know that the connection between the two had only just begun that day on the football field, as their futures would be intertwined.

The Road to Stillwater

Chuba Hubbard sat in his 11th grade physics class not knowing what his immediate future held. All he knew was that the big exam was coming up, and he needed to focus. His concentration was interrupted, however, when he received a Twitter message from Colorado State football coach Mike Bobo asking him to give him a call.

“I went into the cafeteria and called him,” Hubbard recalled. “He offered me a full-ride scholarship to Colorado State. It was everything that I’d ever dreamed of and was really exciting. After that, it was Oklahoma State and a bunch of other schools that came calling.”

When the Cowboys came calling, they were one of many programs putting on the fullcourt press to land the four-star prospect’s signature. It was a wild time for Chuba and family as the phone kept ringing and the offers came pouring in.

“It was overwhelming because it all happened really quickly,” Candace recalled. “We always knew Chuba was amazing so when it happened we stuck together as a family and counted down the ones that he was actually interested in.”

“It definitely took some months to decide where I wanted to go. I had to take an official visit before I knew Stillwater was the right place,” Hubbard said. “Amen was already here, and he told me that it was a good school. He said it would be the right school for me. All of the people in Oklahoma were really nice, and I just prayed over it.”

When Hubbard finally did make his decision, he saved his announcement for a special day.

“It was on Mother’s Day (May 8, 2016) when he surprised me about committing to Oklahoma State,” Candace said. “It was scary for us as parents to have an 18-year-old go down there