The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/699450
JULY 2016 ■ 71 BY MATT CARTER N C State junior defensive end Bradley Chubb has an esteemed family name to live up to, and thus far he is doing well. He is also doing it his way. He is the son of Aaron Chubb, who was a starting linebacker and defensive end at Georgia and a 12th-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 1989 NFL Draft. His older brother is Brandon Chubb, who terrorized offenses in the ACC — in- cluding NC State's — as a linebacker at Wake Forest. He concluded his career last fall with a first-team All-ACC selection by both the league's media and coaches. After finishing his career with 328 tackles, 10th most in Wake Forest history, he is spending his summer getting ready to try to make the Los Angeles Rams' roster as an undrafted free agent. Their second cousin is Nick Chubb, a junior running back at Georgia who rushed for 1,547 yards as a freshman in 2014. He had at least 131 yards in each of the first five games last year, including 146 on 20 carries versus eventual national champion Alabama, before suffering a season-ending knee injury at Tennessee after one run. However, the most impressive accom- plishment in their family may belong to their ancestors — free African Americans who started the unincorporated commu- nity of Chubbtown in Floyd County during the midst of the Civil War, a location in northwestern Georgia near the Alabama state line. It's safe to say that wearing the Chubb name on the back of your jersey carries a lot of weight. Born To Play Aaron Chubb did not force sports onto his sons, but he probably quickly realized there was no keeping his boys from play- ing either. Bradley Chubb competed in everything he could — soccer, baseball, basketball and football. He quickly sensed athletics was in his blood. He focused on just basketball and foot- ball in middle school, concentrating solely on the gridiron around his sophomore year in high school. All the while, he was en- gaged in intense competition with his older brother Brandon. "They competed at everything," Chubb recalled "Video games, small stuff like who can shoot the trash in the trash can. Grow- ing up in high school and middle school we always pushed each other. "My uncle had a gym, so working out there I always wanted to one-up him. He always wanted to outdo me because he was the stud there.'" It was during those times that Chubb learned the power of self-motivation. His father would set a standard for his sons, but he never pressured them. Chubb noted that while his dad signed him up for his uncle's gym, he would never take him there until his son came down- stairs and said, "Dad it's time to go to the gym." "He wanted me to find the love for it like he found the love for it," Chubb said. That motivation Chubb discovered may have come from the endless competitions with his brother. At one point in their child- hood they shared a bedroom with a cousin. The room had square dimensions, which the Chubbs turned into a diamond for the purpose of playing baseball on their knees. Their cousin was the all-time pitcher. In retrospect, the older brother got the best of Chubb, and he now figures why. "He probably did because he had his way of cheating and sneaking stuff in with me being younger and not knowing about it," Chubb half-joked. Growing up, Chubb believes he was faster, and he points to how he played run- ning back most of his life in football as proof. Brandon, he admitted, was stronger. When Brandon started dunking a basket- ball at his 6-1 height, the slightly taller Bradley quickly had to catch up on his jumping skills. "That was the competition," Chubb noted. Eventually the sibling rivalry morphed into brotherly love. When Brandon began shining at Wake Forest, Chubb proudly wore the Demon Deacons school colors around Hillgrove High in Powder Springs, Ga., and he was not shy about bragging about all his brother's accomplishments. Brandon for his part started seeing the potential of bigger things for Bradley. "When I was in eighth grade, and he was a junior in high school, I saw what he was doing, and he wanted the same thing for me," Chubb remembered. "He reached out to me and did everything he could." Carving His Own Path Chubb began establishing his own iden- tity as a high-level defensive prospect at the same time Nick Chubb was emerging as one of the premier running backs in the Southeast. The two did not know each other, though, until their families realized their kinship during the winter of Chubb's senior season. "We didn't really grow up with him," Chubb noted. "Now he's part of the family. We treat him like family." However, there would be no reunion with his cousin at his father's alma mater, though. If anything, Chubb was more likely to follow his brother's footsteps at Wake Forest. That was before NC State offered. Defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen was the recruiting coordinator the summer Chubb made an unofficial visit to NC State. "We didn't find out about his brother un- til a little bit later in the recruiting process, but we didn't recruit him just because his brother played ball and was a good football player," Nielsen stated. "Bradley came from a good high school program and was a good player. He had the size we were looking for at the time." When NC State decided to offer Chubb a scholarship on his unofficial visit, it was like an epiphany hit. "When I went to Wake I loved it and loved everybody there," Chubb said. "I loved my brother. But growing up through- out high school everybody was like, 'Little Chubb, little Chubb.' I could go to Wake and be with my brother or I could go and pave my way somewhere else. "I came here because I felt like it was the best for me. My brother never pressed me to go to Wake Forest, and he supported me the whole time. When I got here I wasn't 'Little Chubb.' For the first time in my life I was Bradley Chubb." FAMILY LEGACY Junior Defensive End Bradley Chubb Comes From Good Bloodlines Chubb compiled 69 total stops, 12 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last season in his first full year at defensive end. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2016