Sleeker Ja’Quay Hubbard Has Exchanged Fried Chicken for Football
April 22, 2024 05:19 PM | Football, Blog
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By: John Antonik
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia's Ja'Quay Hubbard said he has really focused on his body this year, which really isn't any different than when he was a freshman in high school.
You see, Hubbard once weighed more than 400 pounds and sported a 50-inch waist when he went to the homecoming dance back then.
"I have memories pop up on my phone all the time and I'm like, 'That guy would never be here right now.' I had to put the work in," he recalled last Friday.
"I was a starter in basketball and football at 400 pounds, so I was always the dancing bear - maybe a dancing whale – but I was always able to move," the Hermitage, Pennsylvania, resident said. "I wasn't always like a sweets guy. I love fried chicken, mac-and-cheese and candied yams. Now, obviously, I'd eat chocolate too, don't get me wrong, but my problem was I just loved a good meal. Maybe some roast or some brisket. I was all over the place."
Hubbard said a conversation he once had with a college football coach really put things into perspective for him, although not in a way you might imagine.
He admits he never really considered the health implications of being that heavy, but rather the reluctance of coaches to recruit a player that big despite his mobility.
"Football saved my life because you would think I would be thinking of the health factor when I went to try and lose the weight, but I swear I didn't," Hubbard said. "I just knew that I wanted to get recruited. I had some (coaches) come up to me who were recruiting other guys in my area and one coach mentioned, 'Hey, if you lost that weight we would love (to have) you.' As a guy who has been chasing that dream his whole life, I heard that.
"I'm not going to let fried chicken get in the way of my scholarship, so I decided to buckle down and grab some cantaloupe or something," he said.
Some eight or nine years later, he's down to 320 pounds and a starting right guard for a power conference football program. For Hubbard, losing weight has required lots of hard work and dedication to get to this point, and will require lots of hard work for the rest of his life. He knows that.
He also knows his total body remake has made him deficient in some areas, which he wanted to address during this offseason.
"This year, I have really focused on my body, really focusing on lateral movement, mobility and things that I saw in my game that I wasn't happy with in 2023," he explained. "As an offensive lineman, body position, not leaning in your set in the run game and bringing your feet and hips with you, that all has to do with body composition and lower body strength, and that is what I lacked, especially when I first got here.
"I was never losing weight to become a super model; I just wanted to become a better offensive lineman," he added.
Mission accomplished.
Hubbard is part of an experience offensive line that is returning five of its top seven performers from a year ago. Senior Brandon Yates is expected to slide over to center, taking over for All-American Zach Frazier, and senior Nick Malone is the top contender to replace Doug Nester at right tackle.
That leaves holdovers Wyatt Milum at left tackle and Tomas Rimac at left guard to team with Hubbard at right guard. Those are the experienced guys. Also in the mix is a talented cast of younger players.
Hubbard doesn't think this group is going to miss a beat, despite the two key departures.
"We can be even better than last year, even though we can't replace a Zach Frazier and a Doug Nester. I feel like we have an opportunity to carry on what they brought to us and Yates now at center is the captain of the O-line," Hubbard pointed out. "Yeah, he's not Frazier, but he's still a great player who is very twitchy and very smart. Expectations don't lower. We're expecting him to lead this team, and that's the expectations of our coaches and ourselves."
Hubbard said he did his part trying to be a leader last year as well.
"I try to know what the center is going to say, know his identifications and checks. Last year, I've got Zach Frazier saying, 'Hey, be on this guy' or 'we're going backside this way.' But I tried to take it upon myself to know the calls. If I can be one step ahead of what Yates is going to tell me it's all about anticipation," he explained.
Yates said during a recent visit with the media that the sheer number of returners from last year's team has enabled the offensive line to get much deeper into the playbook this year, what he terms "300 level" stuff.
Hubbard explains.
"What he means is we can anticipate calls and anticipate the defensive alignments and see it before it happens. At this level, if you are able to adjust the call, and you feel really sure what they might do, that's 300-level stuff because it's not in your face and the defense isn't just going to show you it," he said.
"But there are certain tells with maybe the alignment of the linebacker, how tight the four-I is (defensive linemen on the inside shoulder of the tackle)," Hubbard said. "Does the corner have the safety on the hash? Is he pressing? Are his eyes inside? That's some of the 300-level stuff that we are able to see right now as an older offensive line that my freshman and sophomore years I just wasn't able to see. Now our coaches are expecting it."
When Hubbard first got to West Virginia after playing one season at Virginia, he was likely to stare down the guy he was supposed to block from the moment he broke the huddle. Now, he knows better.
"That is not going to get the job done," he laughed. "Just like I'm looking for a tell from them, they are doing the same thing with me. There are some things I've had to adjust in my game to help the execution of the play."
Hubbard said he loves blocking for quarterbacks Garrett Greene and Nicco Marchiol because of their ability to make plays with their feet. Senior Ja'Quay Hubbard said he once weighed 400 pounds when he was a freshman in high school. He is now checking in at a much leaner 320 (WVU Athletic Communications).
"It is fun," he said. (Greene is) really good at communicating with us back there and Lord forbid if we mess up, he's one of the fastest guys on the team and he can step out of there. When you've got someone who can run 21 miles per hour, obviously you can't lack your performance, but it definitely lets you 'woo' a little bit, for sure.
"Shout out to Nicco, too, because he has gotten so much better," Hubbard added. "I'm proud of the way he's handled his situation. He's been busting his butt, and he's one of the most improved players on the team. He and Garrett have a great relationship, but they battle each other every day and that's how it's supposed to be. Don't worry because the future is in good hands. Nicco is that guy."
Overall, Hubbard believes this year's team has the necessary ingredients to be even more successful this fall. In the Milan Puskar Center, the guys talk frequently about putting up another championship banner.
Hubbard says the secret to eclipsing the nine-win mark and challenging for a Big 12 title in 2024 is a matter of having a team full of players willing to sacrifice and put in the hard work that is required of a championship team.
"Coach (Neal) Brown has a saying all around the building 'better your best.' Whatever you did last year, everyone has to take it up a notch, whether that's your preparation before practice, what you are doing on the weekends or film study, we just need everyone to elevate their game from the backup kicker to the strength staff," Hubbard explained. "We want everyone in the program to elevate and that's what we're doing right now.
"We are working hard. We're getting coached the hardest we have because of the expectations. Big 12 champs … we talk about trying to go to Dallas every day. That's really the mindset right now," he said.
Hubbard said his personal ownership stake in this is leading by example.
"It's showing up at 5:45 in the morning with some of the other guys - me, Wyatt (Milum), Landen (Livingston), Brandon Yates. I can't just talk about it too. If I make a mistake in practice I can't repeat that mistake," he said. "That's something a freshman or sophomore does and I'm way too old for that. I'm really just putting a lot of pressure on myself. The last scrimmage we had I was treating it like a game by not really laughing on the sidelines and trying to take every rep game like.
"We're older so if the young guys see us doing it, they don't have a choice," he continued. "Coach (Matt) Moore and coach Brown have done a great job of letting us be a player-led team. The players leading are holding that standard, so you either have to adapt or get out.
Last year, the Big 12 media poll served as inspiration for the team. This year, it will again, regardless of where the Mountaineers will be picked.
Hubbard said first, last or anywhere in between will provide plenty of motivation.
"Tom Brady and Michael Jordan always mention to 'find something to motivate you and always find something to give you that extra edge.' Last year, we had a better season, but the goal was the Big 12 championship, and we didn't do that," Hubbard explained. "There is no room for complacency and if you have any mindset that you've arrived, then you are wrong.
"That's kind of been the way we've been approaching it. Yeah, people are not picking us 14th this year, but they aren't picking us first, so we've got that chip on our shoulder," he concluded.
West Virginia wraps up spring work with practices on Tuesday and Thursday morning ahead of Saturday's Gold-Blue Spring Game inside Milan Puskar Stadium.
This year's spring game, presented by Encova, is scheduled to get underway at noon. Tickets are available through the Mountaineer Ticket Office and can be obtained by logging on to WVUGAME.com. A portion of the proceeds from the game will once again benefit WVU Medicine Children's.
