Nick Saban weighs in on the development of Kool-Aid McKinstry

Kool-Aid McKinstry is in the midst of another strong season for Alabama this year as a sophomore. Nick Saban likes what he sees, too.

Saban spoke highly of McKinstry on “Hey Coach and The Nick Saban Show” on Thursday, praising the young cornerback’s development. He leads Alabama with seven passes defended after a solid 2021 campaign.

Saban said McKinstry has the traits to get even better, and he’s shown flashes this year.

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“Kool-Aid’s played really well for us all year long,” Saban said. “I think his consistency and performance has been one of the better guys on defense. He doesn’t give up a lot of explosive plays. He did give up one at the end of the game the other day on a mental error. But those are the kind of things — when you physically get beat, if you could just limit how many times you physically [get] beat in a game by playing the right technique, having the right alignment, understanding what your responsibility is, preparing yourself well through the course of the week of practice and then you only got beat physically because the guy was faster than you or you couldn’t cover him or whatever.

“For the most part, Kool-Aid does a really, really good job of that. He had a big interception at the end of the game. It’s just unfortunate that we got pass interference on the play or whatever. Anyway, I’m really pleased with him. He’s a really good competitor. He’s a bright guy. He really does a nice job for us and affects other players on the team in a really positive way.”

Nick Saban opens up about what keeps him going, why he isn’t thinking about retirement

Nick Saban turns 71 years old on Oct. 31. Halfway through his 49th year as a football coach, including his 15th at Alabama, questions about retirement seem unavoidable — even after the crowd at Baumhower’s Victory Grille sang “Happy Birthday” to him Thursday night.

But one thing’s for sure. The week-to-week grind doesn’t get old, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

“I get asked that a lot, especially by recruits and their families,” Saban said during “Hey Coach and the Nick Saban Show” on Thursday. “But I feel the same way. I get concerned, and you’ve heard me say this before, ‘What are you going to do if you do?’ You enjoy what you’re doing now, you enjoy the grind. People always ask me, ‘How [do] you keep going?’ I kind of enjoy the grind of the week and preparing for the game, getting ready for the game, setting up the game plan, doing all that just as much as the game itself.

“I can’t answer that. I really can’t. You know, I certainly would never want to ride the program down if I didn’t feel like I was doing a good job or whatever.”