Kool-Aid McKinstry was going to make a big impact right away, there was no other option.

The in-state defensive back played his first game as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide on Sept. 11, 2021, against Mercer. Then an unknown at the collegiate level, McKinstry would snag the first of two career interceptions that afternoon. Geneva Allen, his mom, wasn’t surprised. That’s her son.

“Super brave for him to even be able to step out and learn this system, which is very difficult. When I looked at him man, the magnitude of things, it’s definitely unheard of and definitely impressive to see him running out with the 1s,” Alabama alum and current director of player development HaHa Clinton-Dix said.

Follow McKinstry’s rise in Tuscaloosa, turning from a five-star prospect All-SEC freshman, in the second episode of “Road to the Pros,” AL.com’s Emmy-winning series. With exclusive interviews with McKinstry, his family and his youth coaches, the series recounts his upbringing and what allowed McKinstry to adjust quickly.

McKinstry became a staple of Nick Saban’s secondary. His man-to-man defensive techniques often led to offenses losing half the fiield in its passing game. Yet, the Tide found itself on the brink of an emotional loss in McKinstry’s final regular-season game against Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium last November.

McKinstry recounts his perspective of the now-famed 4th-and-31 touchdown from Jalen Milroe to Isaiah Bond. A consummate competitor, McKinstry had believed the game was over, especially when a security guard walked behind him and told him the evacuation plan should the Tide lose. McKinstry still recalls the celebratory haze of that “one-in-a-million” moment.

Then, watch McKinstry begin his NFL Draft prep with a training team in South Florida and his personality shines through.

“He’s one of one. He’s the type of competitor that he’ll only work well with people if those people are trying hard, those people are giving great effort. You can see in any group setting ever, he’s looking for the people that are working the hardest,” Taylor Ramsey, strength and conditioning coach at PER4ORM, said.

McKinstry’s draft process takes a turn when a Jones fracture was discovered in McKinstry’s right foot, or a “big ass pothole,” as he described it. McKinstry couldn’t compete at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, creating a last opportunity to run a 40-yard dash at his Alabama pro day.

The series will continue weekly on AL.com’s YouTube channel. It was directed by Clay Yeager and produced by Yeager, Laura Goldman and Wesley Sinor.

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