Why Washington transfer was selected to be one of Alabama football’s permanent team captains

Parker Brailsford was named a permanent team captain for Alabama football ahead of the 2025 football season.

Brailsford transferred to Alabama from Washington after Kalen DeBoer was hired by UA. He started at center for the Crimson Tide throughout the 2024 football season. He was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, The Sporting News, CBS Sports and USA Today after standing out.

The Crimson Tide’s players voted Brailsford as a team captain, and it was not surprising to DeBoer.

“I’ll tell you what, I really pretty much could have guessed that he would have been a captain just the way he’s been as a leader,” DeBoer said. “And it starts with his leading by example. But it’s really cool seeing a guy, like well, seeing Parker in particular step up vocally and see his growth because I’ve had a chance to see it now going on these four years and so it means a lot to me, just knowing our journey together, that he’s continuing to just keep fighting, keep believing and the guys just really respect when he says something it. It comes from here (pointing to his heart) and you know he lives it every single day and so it’s easy for him to speak up because it’s not something that’s hypocritical and they all listen. I’m proud of him for sure.”

Brailsford is returning to his role as a starter.