Alabama’s rising star Bray Hubbard has a chance to be the Crimson Tide’s first Day 1 safety in over a decade originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
Bray Hubbard has the potential to be a star for Alabama’s defense in 2025. As a former three-star recruit out of Ocean Springs (Miss.) who played quarterback in high school, it’s crazy to think about how far he’s come in what feels like such a short period of time.
Back in 2022, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban got a chance to see Hubbard’s combination of size and athleticism in a workout and almost immediately knew he had the potential to make the move to safety. Just 16 days after landing an offer from the Crimson Tide, Hubbard committed, and as was in most cases, Saban’s instincts about the position switch were spot on.
Hubbard only played four snaps on defense as a freshman. He was mainly a key contributor on special teams, which is why he wasn’t able to retain a redshirt status. He wasn’t a starter for most of last season either. He didn’t get that chance until Keon Sabb went down with what ended up being a season-ending injury against Tennessee in Week 8. But from the moment Hubbard assumed the role, he proved to be one of the top playmakers on the Crimson Tide defense.
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He technically played only 6.5 games as a starting safety next to multi-year veteran Malachi Moore, who ended up being a fourth-round pick to the New York Jets back in April. But despite only starting half a season, Hubbard still managed to tie a team-leading three interceptions to go with 57 tackles, a tackle for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble against Oklahoma.
Pro Football Focus also credited him with 19 stops, which are tackles that constitute as a “failure” for the offense. That almost matched Moore’s total (20) despite Moore playing almost twice as many snaps (787 vs. 429). Caleb Downs had 30 back in 2023, but he was on the field for 890 defensive snaps. The most comparable rate for an Alabama defensive back might’ve been Brian Branch, who totaled 43 in 768 snaps in 2022.
Hubbard seems to just be getting started too. I don’t think we’ve come even close to seeing his ceiling yet, as he’s only been playing the position for two years and hadn’t gotten many live game reps until 2024. We do already know that he brings most everything you’d want in a high-level safety.
His background as a former QB helps him understand how signal-callers think, and he’s got enough range and athleticism to take advantage. Would most consider him to be an elite-level athlete? Probably not. Is he a guy that you want lining up against top-level athletes in man coverage? No, but his instincts, processing and almost picture-perfect technique position him to hold up in most situations. He’s the definition of a defensive playmaker, and he’ll fly around and make tackles as a run defender, too.
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After this past season, Moore was lost to eligibility, but Sabb and Hubbard are both returning. They each have the ability to play either safety spot too, but with Hubbard going from 204 pounds last season to 213 this year, I’m starting to wonder if he’ll be the one tasked with playing that box safety role closer to the line of scrimmage with Sabb getting more of those single-high looks. I’m not sure how much I agree with that approach, but as I already said, they’re fairly interchangeable.
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Here’s what I do know: Hubbard has the potential to be a first-round draft pick some day. And considering how the safety room was left following the departures of Saban, Downs, Jaylen Key, Kristian Story and Jake Pope, that should almost be considered a jaw-dropping development.
When’s the last time Alabama had a safety go on Day 1, anyways? Former Tide standout Minkah Fitzpatrick was technically drafted as a safety, but the No. 11 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft didn’t man that position in Tuscaloosa. He split his time between Saban’s Star position and perimeter cornerback, which means the last true Alabama safety to go in the first round was Ha Ha Clinton-Dix back in 2014. It may not be in 2026, but Hubbard could have a chance to end that drought before it’s all said and done.
This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
