The Extra Point: Who Will Emerge As Alabama's Starting Cornerbacks?

Alabama used four different cornerbacks against Utah State in key situations, as Saban has not given any hints as to who may lead for the job.

When Alabama released its original depth chart at the end of August, one of the biggest talking points was the lack of clarity concerning the starting cornerbacks.

On the depth chart, sophomore Kool-Aid McKinstry and redshirt freshman Terrion Arnold were listed first at their respective positions, but Eli Ricks and Khyree Jackson were listed as 'co-starters,' with a slash separating their names from their teammates'.

Many expected Saturday's season opener against Utah State to be telling as to which corners would be starting going forward. Unfortunately for Alabama fans, the opposite was the case.

McKinstry and Arnold were given the nod to start the game, and on the first play from scrimmage Arnold gave up a 23 yard catch that accounted for over 40 percent of Utah State's passing offense for the game.

The very next series, Ricks was inserted into the game for Arnold and was targeted by the offense, but he held his ground and made multiple good plays in coverage. 

Jackson also entered the game later to supplant McKinstry, and he made some nice plays as well including a tackle-for-loss where he made the tackle by driving an Aggie blocker into the ball carrier that made waves on social media. 

None of the players separated themselves on the stat sheet, either, with McKinstry recording the only pass breakup but the rest of the corners each recording either one or two tackles. 

Alabama head coach Nick Saban appears to not have an answer as well, as he gave a heated answer in his post-game press conference about the media's thoughts about the cornerback situation.

"I said there’s a lot of competition at corner," Saban said. "I don’t know who our best corners are, so we played them all in the game to see who played the best."

Alabama's game against Texas this weekend is sure to go a long way in determining who will play the most at corner from here on out. 

Check out the video at the top of the page where BamaCentral's Blake Byler and Joey Blackwell discuss who may emerge as Alabama's go-to cornerbacks this season.