Sam Hubbard Is Ohio State's Do-It-All Secret Weapon

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Every once in a while when Sam Hubbard is relaxing in his dorm room, he'll find himself flipping through the channels when he'll come across a Notre Dame lacrosse game on TV.

For the former Cincinnati Moeller lacrosse star, it's a nice break from his hectic life as an Ohio State freshman.

It's also a reminder of what could have been.

A 2013 U.S. Lacrosse All-American in 2013 and All-Ohio selection in 2012, Hubbard was at one point considered one of the best midfielders in the country, committed to play for one of the best lacrosse teams in the country, the Fighting Irish.

So as the Queen City native prepares for the second year of his college career, it shouldn't come as a surprise he finds himself emerging as a potential breakout star—although not necessarily in the sport that many once expected he would be.

Despite his immense talent on the lacrosse field, Hubbard never made it to South Bend, the lure of playing for Urban Meyer at Ohio State causing him to turn in his stick and gloves for a pair of shoulder pads. As opposed to having to beat out Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher for one of the country's top talents, Meyer had to take on one of America's fastest growing sports but still managed to come out on top in the race for the 4-star prospect's services.

"It was a lot more complicated of a decision," Hubbard said of his recruitment. "I knew I'd have to transform my body to play football. It wasn't really much of a decision, though, because it's Coach Urban Meyer. Once I sat down in his office and he told me what his vision was and how he was going to do it, I wanted to be a part of it."

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In just Hubbard's first season on campus, he got to see that vision come to fruition, as he got an up-close look at the Buckeyes' run to a national title. But while Meyer had hyped Hubbard's arrival from the day he faxed in his national letter of intent in February 2014, the lacrosse star-turned-football player never got on the field, instead taking a redshirt in his freshman season.

But even as he stood on the sideline on Saturdays, Hubbard still managed to show his versatility to the Ohio State coaching staff.

Coming to Columbus after leading Moeller to a pair of Division I state championships as an All-State safety, Hubbard prepared to move to linebacker as his body continued to grow. On his signing day, he was listed at 6'6" and 230 pounds after weighing 200 pounds in high school, before moving to up to 236 pounds just prior to the start of the season.

Hubbard's time as a linebacker, however, would be short-lived, as an injury to Jeff Heuerman and the suspension of Marcus Baugh caused Meyer to move the freshman to tight end before the Buckeyes' season opener. A career-ending injury to Trey Johnson caused Hubbard to move back to the linebacker room in the middle of the season, before the Ohio State coaching staff ultimately opted to redshirt him as it figured out which position he'd play.

"It was definitely frustrating," Hubbard admitted of his constant position switches last season. "I almost lost faith a few times."

By the time the Buckeyes' bowl preparation rolled around, Hubbard would again find himself with a new position group, as his ever-growing body caused Meyer to give him a try on the defensive line. It's there the Cincinnati product appears to have found a permanent home, having spent Ohio State's entire spring practice session under the tutelage of Buckeyes defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

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For a player who's less than two years removed from playing safety and recording interceptions in the state title game, it's been quite the transition for Hubbard, now listed at 265 pounds.

"I never had to take on a blocker in my entire life until I got here," Hubbard said. "Now I'm taking on 300-pound linemen everyday."

Despite having only played his new position for a few months, Hubbard exits the first spring session of his college career primed to play a prominent role on the OSU defense. With a starting spot opposite star defensive lineman Joey Bosa up for grabs, Hubbard has already done enough for his head coach to promise him playing time heading into his debut season.

"Sam Hubbard's going to be in the rotation," Meyer asserted following last Saturday's spring game.

Hubbard's strong showing in the exhibition only helped his cause in his quest for playing time, as he recorded four tackles, a fumble recovery, two pass breakups and two sacks—although sacks in a spring game are a relative stat. Nevertheless, he hardly looked like a safety playing on the defensive line, and he appeared worthy of the "protege" label Bosa slapped on him earlier in the spring.

"I was excited. I've been waiting a long time for it," Hubbard said of his spring game debut. "It was just a great feeling to get out there and show what I can do."

With fellow defensive ends Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes also coming on strong, Hubbard is going to need to continue on his upward trajectory in order to fully take advantage of the attention that opposing offensive lines will undoubtedly pay to Bosa in the upcoming season. But at the very least, he finally knows which position he'll be playing in a sport he just committed to playing two years ago.

And as for the college lacrosse career that could have been?

"I miss it," he admitted. "Notre Dame's No. 1 in the country."

Then again, for the time being, so is Ohio State football.

"It's hard to miss it when you're at a place like this, doing what we're doing," the new defensive lineman conceded.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.