OSU football: Chuba Hubbard, LD Brown to return kickoffs

Oklahoma State running back LD Brown was pumped Thursday night to break some news of his own.

OSU’s top two running backs will open the year returning kicks.

“Me and Chuba are back there,” Brown said. “We worked on that. We begged coach Gundy for that, so we’ll both be back there this year. Be on the lookout for that, first game.”

Brown and Chuba Hubbard spent the offseason campaigning to serve as the Cowboys’ primary kick returners, and it became official Friday afternoon.

“They want to be back there,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “So, let them have at it and let them work together. They want to try to touch the ball as much as possible.”

Brown, who is regarded as one of the fastest players on the team, returned two kicks last season and played sparingly at running back. Hubbard averaged 22.2 yards on 53 kick returns last season, but he also wasn’t the starting running back.

Gundy wasn’t concerned about the risk of injuries for his primary ballcarriers.

“So, is there concerns? Always,” Gundy said. “Those concerns are somewhat less if they want to be back there, they want to do it. Anything can happen at any time, so if they want to play it, they want to do it, they’re fast, they’re physical, let ‘em have at it.”