00:00:00
Speaker 1: This is Football in the Natty, brought to you in part by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
00:00:12
Speaker 2: Broadcasting from the Anthony Munoz Foundation Topgolf Tailgate on ESPN 1530, Mo Egger, and awesome to be joined by one of the authors of One of the most iconic plays in Bengals franchise history. Pride of Cincinnati, Moeller High School, Ohio State. Sam Hubbard is here. What's up? How we doing?
00:00:32
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me on.
00:00:32
Speaker 2: It's good to have you here. I just asked you off air. Like today, it's the Wednesday. It's the Wednesday before the opener. So it's like the first practice where you guys are like specifically game planning for the opponent. A year ago, you were freshly retired. Now you're a year removed. are you feeling different? Weird? Is it still bizarre to not be preparing to play a game? What's it like?
00:00:53
Speaker 4: I think last off season was a bit more bizarre. I was, my body was gearing up, you know, 20 years of summer prep to go into training camp. Doesn't just evaporate in one year. So last year I was feeling a little bit weird this year. I'm settled in. I'm definitely excited to watch. I feel like a fan, you know, I'm, uh, excited to see how the teams look week one, excited to see the Bengals play.
00:01:18
Speaker 2: So, uh, now when you watch, can you just chill out and relax or are you still watching it through the lens of, of a player of an active player?
00:01:28
Speaker 4: Uh, I think the Bengals specifically, um, I'm very emotionally invested because I still know a lot of the guys, particularly the coaching staff, you know, Ted, Joe, defensive guys, uh, But that kind of fades over time.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: You know, Ohio State, when I knew everybody on the team, feels a little bit different.
00:01:46
Speaker 4: But I think I'll always be passionate about the Buckeyes and the Bengals. But, you know, I want to see my friends do well that are still playing.
00:01:54
Speaker 2: They get Dexter Lawrence. And you know firsthand, having played with DJ, what it's like to have a dude that the other team's got to send two to block. So for guys like Miles Murphy, Boye Mafe, on the edge, Cassius Howell is a rookie. Like, how do they stand to benefit beyond the obvious when you got a guy like Dexter Lawrence in the middle?
00:02:14
Speaker 3: I think everybody benefits.
00:02:15
Speaker 4: That's the one thing that, you know, you can hide a lot of patches and holes in your roster, but especially in the AFC North, if you can't stop A and B gap runs, I mean, you're in trouble. So that's one thing, like, you can't make up for. And the fact that he's so savvy and so smart and such a vet, I think that him knowing where the slides are going and talking to those edge rushers and freeing up the backers, the advantages of him out there compound to other players in ways that a lot of other positions, it's not as big of an impact.
00:02:53
Speaker 2: You played with Miles Murphy, and his first two seasons were a struggle. He's the first to admit that. Then second half of the year last year, he looked like a different player. Now, one of the things I'm excited about is watching what year four may hold. What was it like watching him last year?
00:03:09
Speaker 4: Yeah, I thought that when Miles came in, the way he moved, it was pretty wild to watch. And then my last year, 2024, I think that was his second year.
00:03:22
Speaker 3: Last year was his third year.
00:03:23
Speaker 4: He was really progressing well throughout camp, and I thought he was going to have a big year. And then right before our first game, he had a really bad MCL injury. That when you get those training camp injuries and you miss a lot of time, it's really hard to get back in your groove of conditioning and.
00:03:38
Speaker 3: The skills you've built.
00:03:40
Speaker 4: So that was a bit of a derail, but I'm excited for him to have a healthy offseason, have that momentum from last year. And I think he's on a really nice trajectory to have a really good year.
00:03:50
Speaker 2: And they draft Cassius Howell. And there's playing high major college football, which you did. And there's going through your first NFL training camp. And there's playing in your first preseason game. But is there any substitute for what those first snaps close to 1 o'clock on Sunday for a rookie are going to be like?
00:04:08
Speaker 4: No, there's nothing that can replicate it. I just remember how fast everything is. I think that the advantage for Cassius is that he's got some players in front of him and that they can give him a dose here and there, pass rush, good situational here and there, and that's how you get your feet wet. I had Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap in front of me. All of a sudden, Michael Johnson went down, and then I played 60 snaps after playing eight snaps week two.
00:04:36
Speaker 3: So you never know what's going to happen.
00:04:37
Speaker 4: But that first game, I think just getting that first one under your belt with not having to do a full workload, you can kind of build on that. And I'm sure he'll be active in special teams, which is a whole other ballgame.
00:04:49
Speaker 2: What do you remember, like the 2018, which you guys got off to a good start. Yeah. And the season didn't unfold the way any of us would have liked, but you guys started 3-1. Yeah. I remember our last second win at Atlanta. What do you remember about those first couple of games where you're a new NFL player? You're a rookie. Welcome to the NFL moments.
00:05:08
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've had a lot of welcome to the NFL moments. I mean, I can take this any direction. You know, my second game, Michael Johnson gets hurt. Well, actually, the first game, I didn't play until the very last drive, and everyone got tired on a two-minute drive, and they ran out of bodies, and I think they forgot and threw me in there, so I got a few rushes. We ended up winning the game, and then the next week, you know, coach told me I was going to be getting more snaps. Michael Johnson gets hurt, and I end up playing like 60 snaps and had a sack and thought.
00:05:38
Speaker 3: I was going to be, you know, this was easy.
00:05:41
Speaker 4: And week three, we go to Carolina, and I was, again, going to have a big workload, and I missed a fumble. I missed a blocked punt and, like, didn't play to my best, and I realized that the NFL will humble you no matter what.
00:05:56
Speaker 3: And you need to be on point every single week.
00:05:59
Speaker 4: And that's kind of like the approach I took from then on, never getting too high or too low because you're always going to be brought down to be humbled by the NFL.
00:06:09
Speaker 2: There was, and you were among them, a group of players who were here toward the end of Marvin's time in Cincinnati and went through a real rough stretch, but were there for 2021 and 2022. Yeah. Go back to like year one or two for Zach Taylor when he's trying to establish a culture, trying to establish a tone, and needing the buy-in of guys who had been here prior to him. What was that period of time like?
00:06:36
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, that was, you know, it's Coach Taylor came from the Rams. Lou came from the Giants and the Dolphins. And, you know, they were both young coaches developing their own playbooks. We had a young roster. We had a lot of veterans at the same time. And we kind of figured it out on the fly. I think that the people that really embraced what they were trying to build stuck around and we were able to have some great draft picks. Joe and Jamar coming in really can help things. And the free agent signings. Sometimes you just have a great mix of guys getting Vaughn Bell, Trey Hendrickson, BJ Hill, last second trade. Some of those trades and additions just mesh perfectly at the right time. And you pair it with Zach's vision, Lou's vision, and a bunch of guys that came from winning programs.
00:07:28
Speaker 3: It really worked out, but it was not easy. I'll say that.
00:07:32
Speaker 2: So we would admit it would be more fun to be talking about this had you beaten the Rams, but I so cherish that playoff run because you guys hadn't won a playoff game since I was in the eighth grade. Living here, you knew the drought, and you knew what just winning a playoff game would mean to people. With the benefit of some hindsight now, as you've reflected on your career, what was that stretch in your life like where you're a Cincinnatian helping the Bengals finally break through and advance in the postseason and then remarkably get to.
00:08:02
Speaker 3: A Super Bowl?
00:08:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I'm forever grateful for it. It's something I will forever cherish. You know, I still live in Cincinnati. This is my home to be able to do that. But going into even making the playoffs, I was, you know, I felt like I carried an extra weight on my shoulders, knowing the history, being a fan, when we were losing, everyone that I had known my whole life saying, what's going on? And then to go to the Raiders week one of the playoffs and win that game, I remember looking around and couldn't believe that this had happened and everyone else had come from teams like the Saints where they won games all the time. Joe just won a national championship.
00:08:46
Speaker 3: It was business as usual.
00:08:48
Speaker 4: And I was trying to reiterate, like, no, you guys don't understand what we just did.
00:08:53
Speaker 3: And, you know, one thing led to another. We kept winning.
00:08:55
Speaker 4: But, you know, I have endless stories of anecdotes or whatever, special encounters during that month, two months, you know, from my grade school on Montgomery Road, having every student put up. 94 sticker in the front yard stuff like that it's just unbelievable.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: You know the late tom browning would he and i would talk about like you've probably met a half million people who are in attendance for your perfect game so yeah the the rumble in the jungle or the hubbard yard dash or whatever we've decided it is i don't know what you like to call it it's obviously it's it's still relatively recent but how many people have you met that have Either told you they were there or told you where they were and who.
00:09:39
Speaker 3: They were with at that moment.
00:09:41
Speaker 4: I think it's the first thing people say to me.
00:09:44
Speaker 3: I wonder what they would.
00:09:45
Speaker 2: Say to me. Every day? Every day somebody's got a story? No, not every day.
00:09:47
Speaker 4: But when I meet a new person, they share what that moment meant to them. It's really cool because they were either, you know, I was in the stands with my son.
00:09:56
Speaker 3: It's our favorite moment in all of football law.
00:10:01
Speaker 4: But, you know, I wonder what they would say if I never had that play. I'm thankful that that was kind of just the football gods smiling on the hometown kid. It's pretty wild to think that that actually happened. I still go back and watch the play from time to time. Do you?
00:10:13
Speaker 2: I do, of course. And, like, what's the first thing that you think of when you watch that?
00:10:19
Speaker 4: Probably everything that went into like, you know, three weeks, four weeks before that, I had a grade two calf, missed two games, wasn't sure if I was going to play, you know, just by the skin of my teeth, came back, didn't play that well, was.
00:10:35
Speaker 3: Just grinding it out.
00:10:37
Speaker 4: And then had enough in the tank from years of training and conditioning and just trying to do the right thing, be in the right spot at the right time for it to pay off like that.
00:10:47
Speaker 3: It's pretty wild.
00:10:48
Speaker 2: I'm sure it wasn't cool in real time, but now that you're out of the game, is it cool that your last play was catching a touchdown? Of course. Okay. In real time, that's not what you wanted.
00:11:00
Speaker 3: Yeah, right. I didn't know it was my.
00:11:02
Speaker 4: play at the time but you know you're you're in the offseason you're like i don't know if i can top that should i go back out there you know it's like you go out on a high i got joe's jersey in my basement from that game i got the ball i got it.
00:11:14
Speaker 2: All yeah like what went into calling that like is that it's obviously something.
00:11:18
Speaker 4: You've practiced yeah right yeah no that was uh that was a year of development how that play come about and credit credit to zach you know i dealt with a lot of injuries my last year and Still felt like I.
00:11:29
Speaker 3: Wanted to help the team. This was a way I could help the team. We needed a tight end.
00:11:34
Speaker 4: He had cooked this up. We were looking for the right look for weeks. It finally lined up, and we were down at the time. Joe, running that play in pregame practice, or actually just practice, we would just go out there.
00:11:50
Speaker 3: I'd run the route, and he would always tell me, you got to run it. Run it hard.
00:11:54
Speaker 4: There's going to be a guy on you. I don't think you're going to catch it. He would throw me like a bullet in practice. Sure enough, in the game, there was a guy on my back. I caught it. I think it was most of anything a special moment between Joe and I. I saw him grow up from a college kid to now become the leader of the team, and just a really special moment between two friends.
00:12:17
Speaker 2: I think of players like you following in the footsteps of Anthony, and it's cool that you're here. To me, Anthony Munoz is the gold standard of not just great players, but guys who say, I'm getting involved and I'm helping people, and I'm using my fame, my notoriety, my platform to help people, and you have followed that with your foundation. And so, you know, give folks an idea, sort of post-playing career, what you're doing and what it's been like to not just play for the Bengals as a Cincinnati kid, but be a part of helping this community.
00:12:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, of course.
00:12:50
Speaker 4: You know, like you said, I'm from here, but from the time I started playing for the Bengals, I always viewed it if I was just, you know, remembered for what I did on the field. When my time was over, it had been a missed opportunity, so... I had a great team around me off the field and established my foundation. We have our Hubbard's Cupboards program where we have physical cupboards in schools. We're in 40 schools this year, serving over 18,000 kids, giving them hygiene items, school supplies, healthy snacks. And it's something I dedicate a lot of my free time to now that I'm not playing anymore. I do philanthropy and was a finance major and other business stuff. But my real passion is to trying to give opportunities to people in Cincinnati like I had and hopefully inspire them and leverage the opportunities I was given to do something that will outlast the game.
00:13:42
Speaker 2: Yeah. You're a credit to this town and a huge part of Bengals history, but just a big part of this community. And it's great that you're still here. And there's a part of me that wishes you were still playing because it was fun to watch you with a good Bengals team, and I think they're going to be damn good this year.
00:13:59
Speaker 3: I think so, too.
00:14:01
Speaker 2: But you'll have fun watching it like a more educated fan just like me.
00:14:04
Speaker 3: I'll be there week one.
00:14:05
Speaker 2: There you go. Sam, thanks so much.
00:14:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you, bro.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: The great Sam Hubbard with us. It's 21 from 6. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:14:17
Speaker 1: You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:14:30
Speaker 2: Traffic. From the UC Health Traffic.
Speaker 1: This is Football in the Natty, brought to you in part by Skyline Chili on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
00:00:12
Speaker 2: Broadcasting from the Anthony Munoz Foundation Topgolf Tailgate on ESPN 1530, Mo Egger, and awesome to be joined by one of the authors of One of the most iconic plays in Bengals franchise history. Pride of Cincinnati, Moeller High School, Ohio State. Sam Hubbard is here. What's up? How we doing?
00:00:32
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me on.
00:00:32
Speaker 2: It's good to have you here. I just asked you off air. Like today, it's the Wednesday. It's the Wednesday before the opener. So it's like the first practice where you guys are like specifically game planning for the opponent. A year ago, you were freshly retired. Now you're a year removed. are you feeling different? Weird? Is it still bizarre to not be preparing to play a game? What's it like?
00:00:53
Speaker 4: I think last off season was a bit more bizarre. I was, my body was gearing up, you know, 20 years of summer prep to go into training camp. Doesn't just evaporate in one year. So last year I was feeling a little bit weird this year. I'm settled in. I'm definitely excited to watch. I feel like a fan, you know, I'm, uh, excited to see how the teams look week one, excited to see the Bengals play.
00:01:18
Speaker 2: So, uh, now when you watch, can you just chill out and relax or are you still watching it through the lens of, of a player of an active player?
00:01:28
Speaker 4: Uh, I think the Bengals specifically, um, I'm very emotionally invested because I still know a lot of the guys, particularly the coaching staff, you know, Ted, Joe, defensive guys, uh, But that kind of fades over time.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: You know, Ohio State, when I knew everybody on the team, feels a little bit different.
00:01:46
Speaker 4: But I think I'll always be passionate about the Buckeyes and the Bengals. But, you know, I want to see my friends do well that are still playing.
00:01:54
Speaker 2: They get Dexter Lawrence. And you know firsthand, having played with DJ, what it's like to have a dude that the other team's got to send two to block. So for guys like Miles Murphy, Boye Mafe, on the edge, Cassius Howell is a rookie. Like, how do they stand to benefit beyond the obvious when you got a guy like Dexter Lawrence in the middle?
00:02:14
Speaker 3: I think everybody benefits.
00:02:15
Speaker 4: That's the one thing that, you know, you can hide a lot of patches and holes in your roster, but especially in the AFC North, if you can't stop A and B gap runs, I mean, you're in trouble. So that's one thing, like, you can't make up for. And the fact that he's so savvy and so smart and such a vet, I think that him knowing where the slides are going and talking to those edge rushers and freeing up the backers, the advantages of him out there compound to other players in ways that a lot of other positions, it's not as big of an impact.
00:02:53
Speaker 2: You played with Miles Murphy, and his first two seasons were a struggle. He's the first to admit that. Then second half of the year last year, he looked like a different player. Now, one of the things I'm excited about is watching what year four may hold. What was it like watching him last year?
00:03:09
Speaker 4: Yeah, I thought that when Miles came in, the way he moved, it was pretty wild to watch. And then my last year, 2024, I think that was his second year.
00:03:22
Speaker 3: Last year was his third year.
00:03:23
Speaker 4: He was really progressing well throughout camp, and I thought he was going to have a big year. And then right before our first game, he had a really bad MCL injury. That when you get those training camp injuries and you miss a lot of time, it's really hard to get back in your groove of conditioning and.
00:03:38
Speaker 3: The skills you've built.
00:03:40
Speaker 4: So that was a bit of a derail, but I'm excited for him to have a healthy offseason, have that momentum from last year. And I think he's on a really nice trajectory to have a really good year.
00:03:50
Speaker 2: And they draft Cassius Howell. And there's playing high major college football, which you did. And there's going through your first NFL training camp. And there's playing in your first preseason game. But is there any substitute for what those first snaps close to 1 o'clock on Sunday for a rookie are going to be like?
00:04:08
Speaker 4: No, there's nothing that can replicate it. I just remember how fast everything is. I think that the advantage for Cassius is that he's got some players in front of him and that they can give him a dose here and there, pass rush, good situational here and there, and that's how you get your feet wet. I had Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap in front of me. All of a sudden, Michael Johnson went down, and then I played 60 snaps after playing eight snaps week two.
00:04:36
Speaker 3: So you never know what's going to happen.
00:04:37
Speaker 4: But that first game, I think just getting that first one under your belt with not having to do a full workload, you can kind of build on that. And I'm sure he'll be active in special teams, which is a whole other ballgame.
00:04:49
Speaker 2: What do you remember, like the 2018, which you guys got off to a good start. Yeah. And the season didn't unfold the way any of us would have liked, but you guys started 3-1. Yeah. I remember our last second win at Atlanta. What do you remember about those first couple of games where you're a new NFL player? You're a rookie. Welcome to the NFL moments.
00:05:08
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've had a lot of welcome to the NFL moments. I mean, I can take this any direction. You know, my second game, Michael Johnson gets hurt. Well, actually, the first game, I didn't play until the very last drive, and everyone got tired on a two-minute drive, and they ran out of bodies, and I think they forgot and threw me in there, so I got a few rushes. We ended up winning the game, and then the next week, you know, coach told me I was going to be getting more snaps. Michael Johnson gets hurt, and I end up playing like 60 snaps and had a sack and thought.
00:05:38
Speaker 3: I was going to be, you know, this was easy.
00:05:41
Speaker 4: And week three, we go to Carolina, and I was, again, going to have a big workload, and I missed a fumble. I missed a blocked punt and, like, didn't play to my best, and I realized that the NFL will humble you no matter what.
00:05:56
Speaker 3: And you need to be on point every single week.
00:05:59
Speaker 4: And that's kind of like the approach I took from then on, never getting too high or too low because you're always going to be brought down to be humbled by the NFL.
00:06:09
Speaker 2: There was, and you were among them, a group of players who were here toward the end of Marvin's time in Cincinnati and went through a real rough stretch, but were there for 2021 and 2022. Yeah. Go back to like year one or two for Zach Taylor when he's trying to establish a culture, trying to establish a tone, and needing the buy-in of guys who had been here prior to him. What was that period of time like?
00:06:36
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, that was, you know, it's Coach Taylor came from the Rams. Lou came from the Giants and the Dolphins. And, you know, they were both young coaches developing their own playbooks. We had a young roster. We had a lot of veterans at the same time. And we kind of figured it out on the fly. I think that the people that really embraced what they were trying to build stuck around and we were able to have some great draft picks. Joe and Jamar coming in really can help things. And the free agent signings. Sometimes you just have a great mix of guys getting Vaughn Bell, Trey Hendrickson, BJ Hill, last second trade. Some of those trades and additions just mesh perfectly at the right time. And you pair it with Zach's vision, Lou's vision, and a bunch of guys that came from winning programs.
00:07:28
Speaker 3: It really worked out, but it was not easy. I'll say that.
00:07:32
Speaker 2: So we would admit it would be more fun to be talking about this had you beaten the Rams, but I so cherish that playoff run because you guys hadn't won a playoff game since I was in the eighth grade. Living here, you knew the drought, and you knew what just winning a playoff game would mean to people. With the benefit of some hindsight now, as you've reflected on your career, what was that stretch in your life like where you're a Cincinnatian helping the Bengals finally break through and advance in the postseason and then remarkably get to.
00:08:02
Speaker 3: A Super Bowl?
00:08:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I'm forever grateful for it. It's something I will forever cherish. You know, I still live in Cincinnati. This is my home to be able to do that. But going into even making the playoffs, I was, you know, I felt like I carried an extra weight on my shoulders, knowing the history, being a fan, when we were losing, everyone that I had known my whole life saying, what's going on? And then to go to the Raiders week one of the playoffs and win that game, I remember looking around and couldn't believe that this had happened and everyone else had come from teams like the Saints where they won games all the time. Joe just won a national championship.
00:08:46
Speaker 3: It was business as usual.
00:08:48
Speaker 4: And I was trying to reiterate, like, no, you guys don't understand what we just did.
00:08:53
Speaker 3: And, you know, one thing led to another. We kept winning.
00:08:55
Speaker 4: But, you know, I have endless stories of anecdotes or whatever, special encounters during that month, two months, you know, from my grade school on Montgomery Road, having every student put up. 94 sticker in the front yard stuff like that it's just unbelievable.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: You know the late tom browning would he and i would talk about like you've probably met a half million people who are in attendance for your perfect game so yeah the the rumble in the jungle or the hubbard yard dash or whatever we've decided it is i don't know what you like to call it it's obviously it's it's still relatively recent but how many people have you met that have Either told you they were there or told you where they were and who.
00:09:39
Speaker 3: They were with at that moment.
00:09:41
Speaker 4: I think it's the first thing people say to me.
00:09:44
Speaker 3: I wonder what they would.
00:09:45
Speaker 2: Say to me. Every day? Every day somebody's got a story? No, not every day.
00:09:47
Speaker 4: But when I meet a new person, they share what that moment meant to them. It's really cool because they were either, you know, I was in the stands with my son.
00:09:56
Speaker 3: It's our favorite moment in all of football law.
00:10:01
Speaker 4: But, you know, I wonder what they would say if I never had that play. I'm thankful that that was kind of just the football gods smiling on the hometown kid. It's pretty wild to think that that actually happened. I still go back and watch the play from time to time. Do you?
00:10:13
Speaker 2: I do, of course. And, like, what's the first thing that you think of when you watch that?
00:10:19
Speaker 4: Probably everything that went into like, you know, three weeks, four weeks before that, I had a grade two calf, missed two games, wasn't sure if I was going to play, you know, just by the skin of my teeth, came back, didn't play that well, was.
00:10:35
Speaker 3: Just grinding it out.
00:10:37
Speaker 4: And then had enough in the tank from years of training and conditioning and just trying to do the right thing, be in the right spot at the right time for it to pay off like that.
00:10:47
Speaker 3: It's pretty wild.
00:10:48
Speaker 2: I'm sure it wasn't cool in real time, but now that you're out of the game, is it cool that your last play was catching a touchdown? Of course. Okay. In real time, that's not what you wanted.
00:11:00
Speaker 3: Yeah, right. I didn't know it was my.
00:11:02
Speaker 4: play at the time but you know you're you're in the offseason you're like i don't know if i can top that should i go back out there you know it's like you go out on a high i got joe's jersey in my basement from that game i got the ball i got it.
00:11:14
Speaker 2: All yeah like what went into calling that like is that it's obviously something.
00:11:18
Speaker 4: You've practiced yeah right yeah no that was uh that was a year of development how that play come about and credit credit to zach you know i dealt with a lot of injuries my last year and Still felt like I.
00:11:29
Speaker 3: Wanted to help the team. This was a way I could help the team. We needed a tight end.
00:11:34
Speaker 4: He had cooked this up. We were looking for the right look for weeks. It finally lined up, and we were down at the time. Joe, running that play in pregame practice, or actually just practice, we would just go out there.
00:11:50
Speaker 3: I'd run the route, and he would always tell me, you got to run it. Run it hard.
00:11:54
Speaker 4: There's going to be a guy on you. I don't think you're going to catch it. He would throw me like a bullet in practice. Sure enough, in the game, there was a guy on my back. I caught it. I think it was most of anything a special moment between Joe and I. I saw him grow up from a college kid to now become the leader of the team, and just a really special moment between two friends.
00:12:17
Speaker 2: I think of players like you following in the footsteps of Anthony, and it's cool that you're here. To me, Anthony Munoz is the gold standard of not just great players, but guys who say, I'm getting involved and I'm helping people, and I'm using my fame, my notoriety, my platform to help people, and you have followed that with your foundation. And so, you know, give folks an idea, sort of post-playing career, what you're doing and what it's been like to not just play for the Bengals as a Cincinnati kid, but be a part of helping this community.
00:12:49
Speaker 3: Yeah, of course.
00:12:50
Speaker 4: You know, like you said, I'm from here, but from the time I started playing for the Bengals, I always viewed it if I was just, you know, remembered for what I did on the field. When my time was over, it had been a missed opportunity, so... I had a great team around me off the field and established my foundation. We have our Hubbard's Cupboards program where we have physical cupboards in schools. We're in 40 schools this year, serving over 18,000 kids, giving them hygiene items, school supplies, healthy snacks. And it's something I dedicate a lot of my free time to now that I'm not playing anymore. I do philanthropy and was a finance major and other business stuff. But my real passion is to trying to give opportunities to people in Cincinnati like I had and hopefully inspire them and leverage the opportunities I was given to do something that will outlast the game.
00:13:42
Speaker 2: Yeah. You're a credit to this town and a huge part of Bengals history, but just a big part of this community. And it's great that you're still here. And there's a part of me that wishes you were still playing because it was fun to watch you with a good Bengals team, and I think they're going to be damn good this year.
00:13:59
Speaker 3: I think so, too.
00:14:01
Speaker 2: But you'll have fun watching it like a more educated fan just like me.
00:14:04
Speaker 3: I'll be there week one.
00:14:05
Speaker 2: There you go. Sam, thanks so much.
00:14:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you, bro.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: The great Sam Hubbard with us. It's 21 from 6. This is ESPN 1530 Cincinnati Sports Station.
00:14:17
Speaker 1: You've been listening to Football in the Natty on ESPN 1530, the official home of the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati's ESPN 1530.
00:14:30
Speaker 2: Traffic. From the UC Health Traffic.
