Kool-Aid McKinstry shares message to teammates following Texas loss

Alabama’s season is far from over. After the Crimson Tide’s 34-24 loss to Texas in Week 2, Kool-Aid McKinstry reminded his teammates of this critical fact. On Tuesday, McKinstry shared his message to the team following the crushing loss.

“The future is now,” McKinstry said. “No one has ever won a national championship in Week 2 or lost it. So I feel like we got to come together and the season is still ahead of us. SEC play is still ahead. We still have opportunities to do exactly what we want to do as a team… It’s a big game. It’s a game that we definitely wanted to win. But, it doesn’t win a national championship or lose it.”

McKinstry wasn’t at fault for Alabama’s loss. The 6-foot-1 defensive back tallied five tackles and a pass deflection in the defeat. McKinstry recorded four tackles in Alabama’s season-opening 56-7 win over Middle Tennessee State, as well. McKinstry’s impact is nothing new.

In 2022, McKinstry recorded a team-high 15 pass breakups along with two fumble recoveries and an interception that he returned 26 yards. The Alabama native earned first-team All-America honors from Pro Football Focus at cornerback for his efforts.

McKinstry can do more than lockdown star wide receivers. He also ranked second among Division I punt returners with 332 yards last season. McKinstry averaged 15.8 yards per return, the second-most in the nation and best in the SEC.

Kool-Aid McKinstry guides his team to bounce back

Alabama will need McKinstry’s leadership more than ever on Saturday as the Crimson Tide looks to bounce back. On Wednesday, head coach Nick Saban verified the team’s secondary will be at full strength this weekend.

“This team is going to go as fast as anybody in the country goes,” Saban said on Wednesday of USF’s offense. “We probably won’t be able to get subs in on third down, so we’ll probably have to play with whoever’s in the game. When we tried to do that in the past against teams like this, we get caught with 12 men on the field, or we can’t get them off the field and they get a first down.

“We’ve been playing with those five guys and we’ve not had any issues this week. Hopefully, that will be beneficial in terms of putting reps together, communication and all that.”

McKinstry and his fellow Crimson Tide members will look to rebound Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET against South Florida. The game will be broadcast on ABC.