Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 48-10vs East Carolina | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 3 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 45-17@ Kentucky | 3 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#18
Brayson Hubbard
Bray Hubbard tied for the SEC lead in interceptions and had a top-six draft grade in hand. He gave it back -- returning to anchor a young Alabama defense that lost all four of its 2025 captains. The leadership is half the story.
6′2″ · 215 lb · Ocean Springs, MS
CFB Index 90 · #9 of 544 safetiesLow confidenceReturning to Alabama for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
4★
ATH recruit
No. 316 nationally · Signed with Alabama
No college snaps yet.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Bray Hubbard tied for the SEC lead in interceptions and had a top-six draft grade in hand. He gave it back -- returning to anchor a young Alabama defense that lost all four of its 2025 captains. The leadership is half the story.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Alabama in 2023.
- Alabama names 3 captains (Sep 5) Reported
Buzz vs Tape
Country hotter than the fans
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 43.2 points in belief.
26.8own fans
70national conversation
In Their Words
261 windows · 2026 fan posts
bray×397.5zabien×312.3coleman×38.6williams×21.9alabama×15.9dijon×99.4pierre×82.0captains×80.0
“Who Alabama players would vote for captain Bray Hubbard, Safety: 5 Ryan Coleman-Williams, Wide Receiver: 2 Austin Mack, Quarterback: 1 Zabien Brown, Cornerback: 1 submitted by /u/DoctorWhosOnFirst [link] [comments]”
reddit/rolltide · fan post, verbatim
The story
Hubbard's 2025 was a do-everything safety season: a career-high 74 tackles, four interceptions to tie for the SEC lead, eight pass breakups, two sacks and three forced fumbles -- first-team All-SEC (coaches) and AP third-team All-America. He was a top-six safety on draft boards and chose to come back anyway. The forward stakes are leadership as much as production: with all four of Alabama's 2025 captains gone, Hubbard returns as the veteran centerpiece of a young defense, the established ballhawk a rebuilding unit organizes around. For a player who could have left, 2026 is about leading the Tide's defense back to the standard -- and cementing a first-round profile while he's at it.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Hubbard is a ball-hawking, blitz-capable safety -- the modern do-everything piece. The interceptions (four, tied for the SEC lead) and eight breakups are the range-and-anticipation element of a center-fielder who reads the quarterback and drives on throws, while the two sacks and three forced fumbles show a safety his defense can send and trust to make plays near the line. The 74 tackles say he's a willing, physical presence in run support, not just a coverage specialist. He's the versatile, communicating safety the two-high era is built around -- cover deep, rob underneath, blitz off the edge -- and the leadership of a returning captain-in-waiting is the part that doesn't show up in the box score.
Written by our staff.
2023
- Signed with Alabama4-star out of Ocean Springs
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Alabama
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coaches2023
Alabama
Coaching transition mid-career: Nick Saban → Kalen DeBoer. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023Alabama12-2HC: Nick Saban · Run-heavy
2024Alabama9-4HC: Kalen DeBoer · Run-leaning
2025Alabama11-4HC: Kalen DeBoer · Balanced
2026Alabama2-0HC: Kalen DeBoer · Run-heavy
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Medium confidence
Elite: qb hurries (83rd percentile). Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 3.0 TKL/g, 0.2 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Kalen DeBoer
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2025
Impact starter
Tackle volume for the position among the most productive regulars.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Index Score
90 · #9 of 544 safeties
Former four-star. Now #9 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-SEC
Based on 2025: #1 of 57 SEC DBs
How the All-SEC estimate is computed
49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Career stats
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 2 · 2026
W 45–17
at Kentucky
3 TOT · 1 SOLO · 0 TFL
Dominant 28-point win on the road against Kentucky.
With K. Russell — 188 yds · 1 TD · 2 INT · QBR 38.9 · -9 rush yds (8 car) · D. Hill — 104 rush yds (18 car) · 1 TD
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Hubbard is a ball-hawking, blitz-capable safety -- the modern do-everything piece. The interceptions (four, tied for the SEC lead) and eight breakups are the range-and-anticipation element of a center-fielder who reads the quarterback and drives on throws, while the two sacks and three forced fumbles show a safety his defense can send and trust to make plays near the line. The 74 tackles say he's a willing, physical presence in run support, not just a coverage specialist. He's the versatile, communicating safety the two-high era is built around -- cover deep, rob underneath, blitz off the edge -- and the leadership of a returning captain-in-waiting is the part that doesn't show up in the box score.
Our classifier reads him the same way: hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
2026 Outlook
Alabama
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · Alabama
Returning around him
- 10 Alabama players drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -7 net (17 in / 24 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Alabama · Last season: 11-4 (AP #11) · Talent rank #4 · 2026 recruiting class #2
DNA match
Player DNA
Rover
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
S
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Zion Washington’s 2024 season.
77%match
Matches Zion on
PD rate
TFL rate
Tackle volume
Differs from Zion on
Class year (lower)
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Ameer Speed's junior season at Michigan State (2022).
71%match
NFL Rd 6
Matches Ameer on
Weight
PD rate
Tackle volume
Player DNA
Players who play like Brayson Hubbard
The secondary · Alabama
- #18Brayson Hubbard74 tackles · 2025
- #3Keon Sabb52 tackles · 2025
- #2Zabien Brown39 tackles · 2025
- #5Dijon Lee Jr.32 tackles · 2025
- #6Rydarrius Morgan25 tackles · 2025
16 more on the roster · Alabama team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology