Nick Saban finally made the change. After Kool-Aid McKinstry struggled to field punts throughout the season for Alabama football, the Crimson Tide’s head coach decided to explore another option in UA’s 66-10 win over Chattanooga on Saturday.

McKinstry got two chances Saturday, fair catching the first. The second almost proved disastrous for the Tide, as the cornerback fielded the ball at his own 4-yard line, then fumbled it at the 10, where Alabama was able to jump back on it.

“I got confidence in Kool-Aid,” Saban said after the game. “But he should have returned the first one, fair caught it, and he shouldn’t have even fielded the second one, he fumbled it. So sometimes when you’re in that position, confidence is really, really important and we got to get his confidence back.”

Saban turned to true freshman safety Caleb Downs. The move paid off, as Downs didn’t have trouble fielding the kicks that came his way throughout the game.

And in the third quarter, Downs caught a kick deep in his own territory, made a few moves and showed off his speed. 85 yards later, he was in the Bryant-Denny Stadium end zone, celebrating a touchdown.

“Caleb’s got confidence so obviously did a great job on the middle return we ran today,” Saban said. “Made somebody miss and ran it up the chute. Guys did a good job of fitting and finishing on their blocks and then we had to beat the punter and did a good job of that.”

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe described what he saw as Downs was running back the punt.

“He can make plays,” Milroe said after the game. “I was watching it in slow motion and I was like ‘Oh man, he’s about to house this thing,’ and that’s exactly what he did. He’s really talented, really good safety for us and I’m just really proud of his development and who he is.”

Alabama moved to 10-1 on the season with the win, remaining 7-0 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide will be back in action next Saturday for the Iron Bowl at Auburn.