Alabama Defenders Praise Kool-Aid McKinstry: "He's very physical"

Both LB Will Anderson Jr. and DB Jordan Battle spoke highly of the freshman during their time at the podium on Tuesday.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — As three Alabama football players took to the podium during their first media availabilities of the 2021 preseason on Tuesday, one name that was frequently mentioned was that of freshman defensive back Ga'Quincy 'Kool-Aid' McKinstry.

McKinstry was widely considered to be the top cornerback in the 2021 recruiting class and was ranked No. 29 in SI All-American's SI99. After this past high school football season, McKinstry was named the state of Alabama's Mr. Football for his work at both wide receiver and cornerback at Pinson Valley High School.

Needless to say, there's been a lot of chatter and anticipation for McKinstry's first season with the Crimson Tide.

Someone who is very familiar with hype heading into their freshman season is Alabama sophomore outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. Heading into his freshman season in 2020, Anderson received much of the same attention that McKinstry is receiving this year.

To some players, that pressure can get to their heads and translate to their play on the field. However, it didn't seem to affect Anderson and, according to the man himself, it doesn't seem to be getting to McKinstry, either.

“I think he’s been handling it very well,” Anderson said. “He’s humble, he comes to practice hungry every day, he’s enthusiastic. He brings a lot of energy and he’s very coachable — he takes coaching and he keeps his head up high. He always goes to the next play and he just wants to learn and get better.”

At Pinson Valley, McKinstry was known for his laid-back and humorous nature — as evidenced by the nickname 'Kool-Aid', which made its way to the official Alabama online roster earlier this summer.

While he might be jovial in nature, junior defensive back Jordan Battle said that he is very dedicated to learning and bettering his craft on the football gridiron.

“Kool-Aid is a great player,” Battle said. “He’s very smart in the field. He’s very disciplined, he wants to learn and he’s a great player — he’s going to be a great player for us in the future. I only see him getting better.”

There's a wide variety of reasons why McKinstry's teammates as well as Crimson Tide fans are excited to see him perform for the team this season. An explosive athlete, McKinstry has great long speed and ball skills along with great tracking ability and body control. When you combine all of his strengths in high school, he's almost a prototype athlete of sorts, perfectly suited for the Alabama defense.

With his skills on the field and fun nature, Anderson noted that McKinstry exhibits what coming to Alabama is all about.

“He’s very physical,” Anderson said. “He has fun. He likes to put his nose in any play that we have. He’s fun. He flies around [and] he has fun doing his job. That’s what football is about and that’s what coming to Alabama is about: having fun, playing around and hitting people.”