A position that contributed to Nick Saban’s war on depth charts early in the season, the cornerback room was a competition through early September. Alabama’s head coach had a straightforward solution. All would play and the best would remain.

Fast-forward to Week 7 and while the depth chart retains the ‘or’ between two sets of names, any consistent viewer of Crimson Tide football can discern which two cornerbacks have answered the call.

Sophomore Kool-Aid McKinstry and redshirt-freshman Terrion Arnold have been the backbone of No. 3 Alabama’s (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) defense. McKinstry leads with seven pass breakups and Arnold has four with an interception.

Each underclassman has been challenged by opposing offensive staffs, but along with Brian Branch, Jordan Battle, DeMarcco Hellams and a thriving pass rush, the Tide has allowed an SEC-best 166.3 yards through the air. Facing the third- and leading-throwers in the conference the next two weeks in Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker and Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, McKinstry and Arnold will be called upon again.

“I think both guys have played well,” Saban said, “Haven’t given up a lot of big plays. I think that’s the key to the drill: keeping people cut off in the deep part of the field, playing the ball in the deep part of the field. They’ve been good tacklers, they’ve played the ball in the deep part of the field and they play man-to-man fairly well. So those are probably the most critical factors for them to be successful and the other guys are doing fine, too, but these guys have been the most consistent.”

By the Louisiana-Monroe contest on Sept. 17, a rotation had formed with McKinstry and Arnold taking most of the snaps, and Eli Ricks and Khyree Jackson getting bits of action. By Oct. 1 at Arkansas, McKinstry and Arnold were taking an overwhelming majority of the plays at boundary cornerback, with Ricks, a preseason-All-American, only coming onto the field after injuries thinned the secondary.

Early on, it seemed as if opposing quarterbacks were targeting Tide cornerbacks on back-shoulder targets every week. But Saban described how that pass, a “timing throw,” usually meant the cornerback was in a good position with field-side leverage. The defender could guard the deep ball and the in-cut, two routes with more yards-after-catch potential. In six games, Alabama hasn’t allowed a pass completed for more than 46 yards.

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“I feel like as a cornerback unit we’re getting better and better. We listening to the coaches and doing what they say. Just taking it onto the field, being the best cornerback room we could be,” McKinstry said in before traveling to Arkansas. And for two weeks, he’s been right on his first point.

The Razorbacks lined 6-foot-5 Matt Landers across the 6-foot-1 McKinstry in Fayetteville and threw at him thrice. The results: pass break-up, pass interference and incomplete near the goal line.

On the other side, the 6-foot Arnold seems to be step-for-step with his matchup more often than not. Texas A&M quarterback Hayes King decided to test Arnold and succeeded with completions of 25- and 43-yards. But Arnold still broke up one pass, intercepted another and nearly had a second takeaway.

When Arnold was on an island with the game on the line, matched versus Evan Stewart who had over 100 yards receiving, he faced another challenge. As Aggies head coach Kirby Smart said the intended-targets name, ‘Evan,’ Arnold lipread. He eventually smothered Stewart while King’s pass sailed overhead.

“I think these kinds of guys that have this kind of competitive character are smart, make good choices and decisions in the game, whether it’s what technique to use, the guy I’m covering, how do I need to do it. All those things enhance a guy’s ability to be successful, and Kool-Aid does that extremely well.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].