First off, his last name is pronounced like Loud Bee, but without the d in the middle. He grew up in rural New York State and stayed in the Northeast for college at New Hampshire. And you can hear that accent come through.
The Raiders used the 208th pick in the sixth round on him with the hopes the he can be a solid receiving back while contributing on special teams. Here’s a few things to know about the Raiders newest running back.
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Early hero
He began playing football at the age of five along with his older brother. Their dad was their coach. The name of the team was the Buccaneers and Laube’s favorite player, and who he emulated was Bucs star Mike ‘you’re in good hands with’ Alstott. He even wore the number 40 and sported a neck roll until his junior year in high school.
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All sport star
Laube played multiple sports throughout childhood, including baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and wrestling. A no-star recruit, Laube wasn’t ranked by recruiting services and actually received better offers to play college lacrosse. But football was his first love and so he stuck with it until he got his offer from New Hampshire. Wise decision it would seem.
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NFL comps
Laube didn’t grow up to have a Mike Alstott frame. He fell short by about three inches and 40 pounds. So, in today’s NFL, he models his game after a different kind of back.
“I can say Christian McCaffrey, Austin Ekeler, Alvin Kamara,” Laube said of the players he emulates.
Ekeler in particular was signed by the Chargers by Tom Telesco, now the GM for the Raiders. Telesco sees his role being similar to the all-around back Ekeler was for the Chargers along with Danny Woodhead.
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Scoring machine
Opponents simply could not keep Laube out of the end zone. He had 19 touchdowns in 2022 — 15 rushing, two receiving, one kick return, and one punt return. Last season he had 18 TD’s – 9 rushing, 7 receiving, one kick return, and one punt return. That’s right, he had punt and kick return touchdowns in each of the past two seasons.
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Special teams demon
If the return touchdowns weren’t enough proof of that, I asked Laube what part of his game he took the most pride in and he knew where his bread will be buttered at the NFL.
“I think special teams is, if not the most important, the most underrated thing in a football game,” said Laube.
“I feel like is what separates me from every running back in this class. And I think me being able to do a bunch of different stuff like kick return, punt return, gunner, jammer. I think I’m able to do so many different things.”
To which Tom Telesco said “smart kid”
“He knows this is how l have to make the team,” Telesco continued. “He’s going to have to do a lot of dirty work on special teams, but also, he does some returns, which is big. And especially with us trying to maneuver this new kickoff rule.”
