Bengals' Sam Hubbard remembers his high school roots as he prepares for his second season

The end of July and into early August is when last season's football pads are dusted off, distributed, and made ready for the grueling gridiron months to follow. 

The same could be said for the men who occupy that gear. 

Right now in the Queen City, the Cincinnati Bengals are off and running, grinding and sharpening the proverbial axes they'll carry with them into battle. 

It's a journey that touches every team at every level. From peewee football players to high school and college, Sam Hubbard knows the excitement that comes with the first week of August, particularly in this town. 

Ready to start his second NFL season for his hometown team, Hubbard said the memories of his time playing at Moeller High School are never far from his thoughts when the pads get passed out and put on. 

More:Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Mixon: You can’t replace the great running backs in the NFL

More:Bengals notebook: Rain and lightning causes team to alter another practice

The former Ohio State standout, who the Bengals selected in the third round of the 2018 draft, said he went to one of Moeller's first practices to talk to the team. 

Hubbard said going through training camp with the Bengals occasionally makes him reminisce on those younger days. 

"Football's football," said Hubbard. "First day of pads is always a special day because you get to showcase to your teammates and the guys around you who you are as a player and a person and how tough you are, and I think it's never gonna change no matter what level it is. 

"Things might be a little bit bigger and faster than it was in high school but we're still football players." 

He's come a long way since his time at Moeller, where he played safety and helped the Crusaders win back-to-back state championships in 2012 and 2013. 

Not to mention, Hubbard's first choice for college was lacrosse. He was originally committed to play lacrosse at Notre Dame but opted for football at Ohio State instead. 

Now the second-year defensive end has a real chance to build upon what he started last season as a rookie. Hubbard played in all 16 games and posted six sacks and 39 tackles last year.

When the first depth chart of training camp was released earlier in the week, Hubbard was listed as the starter at right defensive end. That's, in part, because Michael Johnson's no longer around and Carl Lawson's still working his way back from a torn ACL in Week 8 last season.

But it's also because Hubbard's played his way into that spot and there will be plenty of opportunities this season for him to prove he belongs there.

As for Hubbard's early impressions of the defensive side of the ball, he said, "I think we got a lot of good dudes that have great play-making ability. Right now, we're just getting better every day and that's the main thing. We've made a lot of progress from where we started to where we are now. The biggest key is sticking together when adversity hits this season because it's NFL football and adversity hits every team.

"If we're able to stay together and play fast I think we've got something special going."