USA TODAY Sports' list of the top 100 players in college football includes four Alabama Crimson Tide starters heading into 2026, including one that ranked among the sport's 10 best players.
Safety Bray Hubbard made USA TODAY Sports' rankings at No. 8 overall. Hubbard was the highest-ranked safety in the outlet's top 100 players list, which included Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith at No. 1, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss as the nation's best quarterback, and Notre Dame's Leonard Moore as the top-ranked cornerback.
College football analyst Austin Curtright said of Hubbard:
"A bulldog in Alabama's secondary, Hubbard has a nose for the football. The former high school quarterback was all over the field in 2025, making 79 total tackles with four interceptions,
three forced fumbles and two sacks at safety for the Crimson Tide. The preseason All-American by numerous outlets is one of the most experienced and best defensive playmakers in the sport."
Hubbard, a 6-foot-2 senior out of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, started all 15 games last season and was an All-SEC First Team selection by the AP and SEC coaches. He has 136 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, 15 pass breakups and four forced fumbles over the past two seasons at Alabama.
Hubbard is also Alabama's top returning tackler from last year (74 total tackles, 47 solo) and an SEC-leading four interceptions.
Third-year receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams was the next highest-ranked player on USA TODAY Sports' list at No. 33 overall. That made him the fifth highest-ranked receiver overall.
"Coleman-Williams is still among the most-talented receivers in college football, even after a disappointing season in 2025. He caught 49 passes for 689 yards with four touchdowns last season, although his 13% drop rate left a lot of production off his final stats. The junior receiver entered last season as a preseason All-American after leading Alabama with 865 receiving yards in 2024 as a true freshman, and he’s looking to get back to that form in 2026, a potential NFL draft year for the former five-star recruit." --Austin Curtright, USA TODAY Sports.
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Cornerback Zabien Brown also made the top 100 at No. 37 overall. He ranks as the No. 2 true cornerback on USA TODAY Sports' list and the No. 5 overall defensive back.
Brown has started all 28 games the past two seasons at Alabama and has five career interceptions, 13 pass breakups and 4.5 tackles for loss. A product of Santa Ana, California, Brown ranked as the nation's No. 3 cornerback by 247Sports in the class of 2024.
"Brown enters his third season as starter at Alabama after achieving one of the best seasons by a ball-hawking cornerback in college football last season," Curtright said. "Brown finished the year with a game-changing pick-six against Tennessee and Oklahoma -- the latter in the College Football Playoff-- along with 39 total tackles and five pass deflections."
Linebacker Yhonzae Pierre rounded out the Alabama contingent of players in USA TODAY Sports' rankings at No. 56 overall. The senior out of Eufaula was one of the Tide's most impactful players last season, registering 52 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss to go with eight sacks. He also forced three fumbles.
Alabama opens the 2026 season against East Carolina Sept. 5 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Kickoff is 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.
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Alabama football schedule 2026
All start times Central.
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates, 11 a.m., ABC
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, prime time
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs, early window
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs, prime time
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers, TBA
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Agges, TBA
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, TBA
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Where Alabama football players rank in USA TODAY Sports' top 100 list
