Hubbard redshirted his first year at Ohio State in 2014. As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he played in all 13 games and had 28 tackles and 6.5 sacks. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, he started all 13 games and had 46 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Hubbard played in 14 games in 2017 as a redshirt junior and had 42 tackles along with a career high 7 sacks. Hubbard declared for the 2018 NFL Draft on December 30, 2017.
Professional career
On December 30, 2017, Hubbard released a statement on Twitter announcing his decision to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine drills, but opted to skip the 40-yard dash and bench press. Hubbard participated in linebacker and defensive end drills at the combine. On March 22, 2018, he participated at Ohio State's pro day and performed positional drills, the 40-yard dash, 20-yard dash, and 10-yard dash. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Hubbard was projected to be a first or second round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the third best defensive end in the draft by DraftScout.com, was ranked the fourth best defensive end by Scouts Inc., and was also ranked the fifth best edge rusher in the draft by Sports Illustrated. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Hubbard in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Hubbard was the seventh defensive end drafted in 2018. On June 21, 2018, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Hubbard to a four-year, $3.61 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $929,200. On September 13, Hubbard recorded his first-career sack against the Baltimore Ravens, bringing down Joe Flacco for a loss of 11 yards in the 34–23 victory. In a Week 5 victory over the Miami Dolphins, he recorded a 19-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. As a rookie, he totaled 39 total tackles, nine quarterback hits, seven tackles-for-loss, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. In the Bengals' 2019 regular season opener, Hubbard recorded two sacks and a career-best 10 tackles in the 21–20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. In week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, Hubbard sacked rookie quarterback Kyler Murray once in the 26-23 loss. In week 17 against the Cleveland Browns, Hubbard recorded a team high 6 tackles and sacked Baker Mayfield 1.5 times during the 33–23 win.
