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2026 Alabama Fall Football Preview: The Safeties are the lifeblood of the team
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 1: Linebacker Yhonzae Pierre #42 of the Alabama Crimson Tide and defensive back Bray Hubbard #18 of the Alabama Crimson Tide and defensive back Keon Sabb #3 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrate during the first half during the College Football Playoff Quarter Final Game at Rose Bowl Stadium on January 1, 2026 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by CFP/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There’s rarely been a time in the last 20 years where the safeties haven’t been a strength of the Alabama Crimson Tide. In general, it’s a position that gets overlooked a little in both recruiting rankings and the NFL Draft… Until a team winds up with a bad one and it breaks the entire defense.
A year ago, the Tide was one of the top defenses in the country in passing defense stats, and that was all thanks to absolutely outstanding secondary play, especially since the Tide was only average in terms of pass rush. Well, then Alabama got great news coming into the 2026, as both of the starting safeties from last year’s team chose to forego the NFL draft and return for their senior seasons, which will be their 3rd season as starters.
Alabama’s defensive coordinator, Kane Wommack, runs a 3-3-5 (or 4-2-5, depending on who you ask) swarm defense that typically operates with a single high safety in predominantly zone coverages. Typically, one safety will line up deep, with the other moving into a shallow zone. And then the “Husky” position, which is a hybrid corner/safety, often lines up in the slot opposite of the shallow safety. The Husky will be included in today’s article with the safeties, but definitely recognize that there can be overlap there between the safeties and cornerbacks.
So, let’s take a look at this position group as we head into the 2026 season.
The Departed
Alabama didn’t lose a whole lot from last year from this group. Senior DaShawn Jones has graduated and moved on as the former starting Husky, but he had pretty well lost his grip on the starting job by the end of 2025. Still, he was a reliable, if unspectacular, presence at the position last year.
Then there was backup Kam Howard, who transferred in a couple of years ago as a depth piece, and has now transferred on to Boston College.
The Returning Starters
#18 Bray Hubbard (Sr) 6’2” 217
In 1.5 seasons as a starter, Hubbard has racked up 7 interceptions and forced 4 fumbles on his way to becoming one of the bigger defensive playmakers in all of college football. He finished 2025 as a first team All-SEC safety and was a 3rd-team and 2nd-team All-American by a couple of media outlets.
Once a wildcat QB from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Hubbard was a fascinating recruiting story as somewhat that Nick Saban and Pete Golding got him to try playing defensive back on a whim during camp… And it stuck, and now he’s one of the top defensive backs in college football.
Hubbard has the size, speed, and nose for the football to be an every-down impact player in both coverage and tackling. Basically, there’s not much not to like.
Hubbard spent about 75% of his time as the box safety for Alabama, but he did drop back to free safety at times and has the versatility to play any of the spots as needed.
#3 Keon Sabb (RSr) 6’1” 208
Once a highly talented transfer from Michigan, Sabb has developed into a steady, dependable player for Alabama the last two seasons. While Hubbard has been the playmaking half of this duo, Sabb has been the eraser on the back end of the defense. He’s played primarily as the deep centerfield safety, and while that hasn’t given him much chance for getting his hands on the ball or even making too many tackles, he only allowed 10 total passes to be completed against him last year for a paltry 0.2 yards per coverage snap.
He’s quiet – and there are few better compliments for a deep centerfield safety. He’s not quite got the accolades that Hubbard has, but he was named a preseason 3rd-team All-SEC this summer, so he is starting to get recognized more for his efforts.
#6 Red Morgan (Jr) 6’o” 189
Morgan has had a very interesting first couple of seasons at Alabama. He was an undersized 3-star recruit out of Phenix City that impressed the coaching staff enough during his first summer that he found his way onto the field as a starter in his first couple of games in 2024. However, things went poorly for him, as he was often a few steps out of position and on the wrong end of quite a few bad plays.
A year later in the second half of 2025, Morgan started getting his shot again as the Husky when DaShawn Jones went out with an injury, and he never looked back. Morgan played like a man-possessed, looking like the hardest-hitting defensive back in all of college football despite his sub-190 pound frame. He still had some inconsistencies in pass coverage, but he quickly acquitted himself as one of the best perimeter run defenders around.
Returning Depth
#12 Zavier Mincey (Jr) 6’3” 206
Mincey was a 5-star prospect as a tall cornerback a couple of seasons ago. He played a decent bit and played well in Alabama’s bowl game against Michigan after 2024. He mostly filled in as the dime defensive back in 2025 and saw time in every game, but he had a few mishaps, including a disastrous couple of plays against Auburn. To this point, he hasn’t shown enough to work his way into a regular despite generally being one of the top backups.
#13 Ivan Taylor (So) 6’0” 196
Taylor was one of Alabama’s higher profile recruits in the 2025 class. He didn’t really see much time on defense as a freshman, but he was a key piece on special teams all season long. This offseason, he’s gotten all kinds of praise from coaches, other players, and media for how well he’s playing and that he’s looking like he may have taken a step to be the the next real impact maker. To this point, we haven’t seen him enough to know for sure, but there’s a lot of smoke that he may be pushing Mincey and possibly even Red Morgan to get on the field.
Alabama Fall Football PreviewThe SafetiesAlreadyCrimson TidePASADENACALIFORNIALinebacker Yhonzae PierreAlabama Crimson TideBray HubbardKeon SabbCollege Football Playoff Quarter Final GameRose Bowl Stadium
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