When Alabama’s defense took the field for the first time against LSU on Saturday it had one new face lining up in its defensive backfield.
Freshman cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry got his second start of the season against the Tigers in place of junior defensive back Josh Jobe. Jobe was seen fully dressed on the sidelines and appearing as if he was available which raised some questions.
But rather than this being a typical late-season benching, Jobe has been dealing with turf toe which was reaggravated earlier in the week which held him out of practice.
“Josh has a turf toe that flared up on him and he wasn’t able to practice,” Saban told the media following the game. “So he could have played in the game, aight, but at the same time, we weren’t gonna play him in the game unless we had to play him in the game. And he was ready to play in the game, but because he hadn’t practiced a lot and the fear of making his toe worse, we would sort of see if we could get it done without him.
“And then when Jayln (Armour-Davis) went down, we thought he was the best option to put in the game, and he wanted to play and he as ready to play and I thought played pretty well.”
Armour-Davis, who Saban mentioned left the game for a period with a rib injury, was able to return and following the game went through further tests that resulted in some positive news.
“Jayln Armour-Davis got hit in the ribs,” Saban said. “X-rays were negative, so hopefully he’ll recovers quickly.”
McKinstry stepped up and helped aid a Crimson Tide defense which allowed just 160 passing yards from Tigers quarterback Max Johnson and also forced an interception. Alabama’s defense was also particularly disruptive on third down allowing LSU to convert on just 5-of-18 attempts.
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
