Richard Ober, Arizona Republic

Keeping track of high school sports and college recruiting

La Joya's Hubbard turns on the jets

Avondale La Joya junior running back D.J. Hubbard ran 40 yards in 4.38 seconds -- on a soggy Apache Junction High football

field Sunday. He was the fastest participant in Dave Schuman's National Underclassmen football Combine and that includes Saturday's time turned in by Scottsdale Chaparral sophomore wide receiver

Davonte' Neal (4.41).
Hubbard was combine king and MVP for juniors, his father, Tim Harris,  said.
Harris said his son had a 35 1/2-inch vertical jump, as well.
He is only 5 feet 6, 159 pounds, but Hubbard, a hard runner who is loyal to a program that lost more than it won last year and now has its third coach in three years (Mike Gunderson), won't be lost in the college shuffle. That's because he is way ahead of the game academically with a 4.2 grade-point average.
Harris said a Stanford recruiter two weeks ago came by the school to see Hubbard, who ran for more than 1,000 yards last season.
"I think they're looking at him pretty good," Harris said. "Oklahoma State and Notre Dame also are looking. I think after he takes his ACT and SAT (this month), more schools will come around.
"He's definitely a gamer in football."
Expect a very good year for offensive linemen in the class of 2011 in Arizona.
Chandler Hamilton's Christian Westerman (6-5, 285) leads the way. But you also have Scottsdale Saguaro's Cyrus Hobbi (6-4, 275), Fountain HIlls' Tyler Bode (6-7, 285), Scottsdale Chaparral's Andre Yruretagoyena (6-5, 260) and Tucson Salpointe Catholic's Jacob Arzouman (6-4, 270). Pac-10 school will be coming hard after each of them.