Hubbard and Vinnie may have been maxed out. Hubbard had been in the program for 4 years and Vinnie was coming off a good season. I'm not sure how much more they could have improved their stock.
Hubbard was in his RS Junior year when he declared (same as Thompson). He went undrafted. Either he was going to be undrafted no matter what, or he could have clearly improved his stock.
I seem to recall that Hubbard was also at odds with the staff, and maybe his position coach about his playing time, so for good or bad that likely impacted his decision.
Think you're right. There was an issue or two between Hubbard and the staff. For his sake, it was probably a poor decision. For Alabama's sake, it was probably a benefit in the long run.
That is how the process works. Some team really wants him and trying to deflate his value so they can get him at where they're drafting or for a "better value" when they trade up to get him after making him fall down a bit.
Hubbard has said some stuff on social media before. I think even some stuff somewhat recently(within the past year or so) that points to him having issues with staff here.
Since he's been working with Joe Staley, and he's from Folsom, maybe the 49ers will look into drafting him for one of their offensive line positions.
