Alabama Safety Bray Hubbard Returning to Tuscaloosa

The Crimson Tide retained a big piece of its secondary for the 2026 season, with safety Bray Hubbard forgoing the 2026 NFL draft and announcing his return to the Crimson Tide for 2026, via Alabama's NIL colelctive Yea Alabama.

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Hubbard, a 6-foot-2, 213-pound defensive back from Ocean Springs High School in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, was a three-star athlete prospect who signed with the Crimson Tide in Alabama's 2023 recruiting class. He was rated as the No. 32 overall athlete in the class and the No. 7 player in the state of Mississippi.

Hubbard played primarily on special teams in 2023 before expanding his role in 2024 due to an injury to Michigan transfer safety Keon Sabb. In 2025, Hubbard started all 15 games for the Crimson Tide and showed out as one of the best defensive players in the country. During his three-year Alabama career, Hubbard totaled 132 tackles, 10 pass breakups, seven interceptions, four forced fumbles, and two sacks for the Crimson Tide. In 2025, Hubbard totaled 74 total tackles, eight pass breakups, four interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two sacks.

He earned All-American honors from the AFCA and the Associated Press, while being named All-SEC First Team by the AP and coaches around the conference. He was also named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his play against Wisconsin and Auburn during the season. Hubbard earned Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week and Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week honors for his play against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Hubbard was rated as the 5th-best safety on Mel Kiper's Big Board for the 2026 NFL draft.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.