'He's Harder on Himself Than Anyone': Bray Hubbard Rebounds After Early Mistake

COLUMBIA, Mo. — No. 8 Alabama football had plenty of players contribute to Saturday afternoon's 27-24 road win over No. 14 Missouri, and safety Bray Hubbard was certainly one of them.

After safety Keon Sabb broke his foot last season against Missouri, Hubbard, despite a lack of experience, filled in as the starter. He displayed exponential growth each passing game in 2024, and there were expectations that it would continue in 2025.

However, in Week 1, Hubbard was brutalized by the college football world for his struggles in the loss to Florida State. But just two weeks later, he proved 2024 wasn't a fluke as he hauled in two interceptions against Wisconsin and was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week.

Hubbard logged an interception against Vanderbilt last week as well, but he had a somewhat quiet start against Missouri on Saturday. He had three tackles in the first half, one of which ended a 12-yard run. Early in the third quarter, Tigers quarterback Beau Pribula juked out Hubbard, one of Alabama's top tacklers, and he ran into the end zone. Hubbard was flat on the ground with his face down in disappointment.

That five-yard rush helped Mizzou tie the game at 17 after trailing 17-7. The momentum had shifted towards the direction of the home team, and Alabama's defense needed to buckle down. On the Tigers' very next drive, Hubbard put the missed tackle behind him and he locked in by breaking up a pass on third down. Missouri could've potentially taken the lead on that drive, but not on Hubbard's watch.

"Dude keeps playing, he's a baller," Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said of Hubbard after the game. "You're going to dwell, that's a tough team, stuff's going to happen, it's a heavyweight fight each week. Bring some punches. [Missouri's] a good offense, so we've got to keep playing. You've got to trust me and the offense that we're going to make a play and I've got to trust the defense and make sure they go make a play. It's just how football is."

Hubbard's rebound didn't end there. Alabama was up 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, and as Mizzou was approaching midfield, the safety came up clutch on another third down and snatched an interception out of the air.

"Bray is a complete player and the sky is the limit for him," Alabama linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green said after the game. "Honestly, I think he's harder on himself than anyone can be. I'm proud of him for responding and we're just going to grow. He and our entire defense throughout the season."

Alabama's defense built off of Hubbard's second-half turnaround, as the Tigers, who entered Saturday averaging the seventh-most points per game in the country, scored seven points in the fourth quarter.

"I have a ton of confidence in our defense," Simpson said. "They bailed us out a whole lot. That's a good offense and that back [Ahmad Hardy] is the real deal, man. The quarterback, Beau [Pribula], he's going to run around. They've got some good players on that team, so hats off to the defense, they bailed us out a lot.

"Dijon Lee came up big, Bray Hubbard came up big, two turnovers. But we've got to help them out. That's the No. 1 rushing offense in the country and we held them to under 150 yards. That's impressive."

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