Alabama DB Bray Hubbard: 'I've got to step into a leadership role' as veteran in 2025
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama safety room is going to look very different in both the immediate and distant future. In the immediate, Keon Sabb has already been out for a while, and now with Malachi Moore undergoing surgery and DeVonta Smith entering the transfer portal, Bray Hubbard is the lone starter at safety available for for the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Hubbard has played extremely well since taking over for the injured Sabb midway through the year, but now will be the veteran on the back end of Alabama’s defensive unit in the upcoming game as the Crimson Tide looks to break younger players in at different positions.
Regardless of who it ends up being, Hubbard has confidence.
“We’re not sure [who will start] yet. It’s just day-by-day,” Hubbard said. “We all play together all the time, every position. So it’s just whoever goes out there. We’ll see on gameday. I don’t think it’ll change much. We rotate guys in, at the end of the day it’s just whoever the three of us out there are, go and play to the best of our abilities, do what we’re coached to do, be on the same page and communicate.”
In the more long term future, Hubbard is about to become the longest-tenured defensive back on Alabama’s roster entering the 2025 season. He’ll be in his third season in Tuscaloosa, and with the aforementioned departures of Smith and Moore, as well as Jahlil Hurley also entering the portal, Hubbard is the only defensive back on the 2025 roster that was around during the 2023 season.
“It’s been kind of crazy honestly. Everything with the transition,” Hubbard said. “Now I look up and I’m like ‘dang, I’ve been here a while now, I guess I’m one of the veterans you could say.’ This is going on my third year now. I’ve got to step up into a leadership role inside the room now.”
Hubbard explained what he’s going to need to do as one of the leaders, and credited Sabb for how he showed his leadership this past season.
“I come in every day and just do my thing. I try to make everyone else around me better, they make me better too,” Hubbard said. “It’s all about everybody maximizing their opportunity. You’ve got to help guys, like Keon did for me. He helped me to where when he went down, I was able to maximize my opportunity because of the connection we have inside the room.”
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Sabb is another player set to return in 2025, which gives Alabama an incredibly experienced and talented safety duo to work with on the back end.
“It’s gonna be great,” Hubbard said. “We’ve played together a couple times, even through the season. Him coming back, me coming back, it’s gonna be great. I think we’ll have a great room.”
Hubbard also praised true freshman Zay Mincey, who moved from cornerback to safety this season and was mentioned by the coaching staff as a player who could fill a needed role in this bowl game with the room being thinned out.
“He’s progressed a lot. Honestly, I think it was a smooth transition for him,” Hubbard said. “Zay’s a great player, very smart, very talented. We all play together out there on the field every day. The transition for him has been really smooth, he’s made a bunch of great plays. I’ve been impressed with the way he’s been playing safety.”
