Ga’Quincy McKinstry Preparing to Make an Impact as a Freshman
Ga'Quincy "Kool-Aid" McKinstry is training with former NFL defensive back TJ Heath to prepare for his upcoming freshman season.
McKinstry was a 5-star recruit coming out of Pinson Valley High School in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He was rated as the No. 1 cornerback, No. 1 player in the state of Alabama and No. 17 player overall according to 247Sports.
As a senior, McKinstry led his school to a state championship. He accounted for 22 tackles, 12 pass breakups and two interceptions on defense and hauled in 45 catches for 706 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense. McKinstry was named ASWA's Mr. Football and MaxPreps Alabama High School Football Player of the Year.
The Pinson, Alabama native enrolled early in school to take part in spring practice for the Crimson Tide. McKinstry worked with the second-team defense during Alabama's spring game. He recorded three tackles, one pass breakup, one fumble recovery and an interception.
“Kool-Aid, you know, is making progress,” Saban said during spring practice. “I think, you know he’s shown that he has some ability to contribute to the team. I think that, you know, he has to play with more consistency in his position. He needs to know what to do all the time.”
“He's like all the other young players out there,” Saban said. “I think these guys find out that this is not going to be as easy as they thought it was. But I think he's shown a lot of maturity. And he has played with toughness. I’m not satisfied with where he is, but I'm certainly pleased with the progress he's making.”
“Every day coach Saban gets on him about getting better and he feeds off of it,” Jordan Battle said. “Every day he gets better with trying to get things corrected and today showed that he’s made a lot of improvement and he made a lot of plays out there.”
McKinstry will continue battling Jalyn Armour-Davis, Marcus Banks and Khyree Jackson for a starting position this summer and fall.