Alabama football lands 2 players on Pro Football Focus’ All-American squad

With the Heisman Trophy presentation this coming weekend, college football is deep into its postseason awards season.

The University of Alabama is in the College Football Playoffs after winning the Southeastern Conference once again.

Caleb Downs, Will Reichard, and Dallas Turner are among the Alabama players who have won individual awards. With eight first-team picks, it resulted in 11 players being selected for the All-SEC Coaches Team. Due to their performances this season, two players under Nick Saban were named to Pro Football Focus’ All-American team. Kool-Aid McKinstry and Caleb Downs were honored, and both names were on defense.

One of the top cornerbacks in the country is junior McKinstry.

The 195-pound, 6-foot-1 player has two tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, and 27 tackles overall. He is anticipated to be selected early in the first round of the NFL Draft by several commentators. The product of Birmingham, Alabama, joined the Tide in 2021 as a five-star recruit, but now he wants to win a CFP National Championship. McKinstry is a lockdown defender and a leader in the secondary.

For Alabama, true freshman Downs has been a unique playmaker.

In terms of total tackles (99) and solo tackles (64) he leads the defense. In addition to five pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two interceptions, the native Georgian has 3.5 tackles for loss. At Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Downs contributed to the Tide’s victory over Georgia and the SEC Championship. He needs one more tackle to become the first Alabama rookie defender to 100 tackles during the Saban era.

The Alabama defense is ready to lead by McKinstry and Downs to a strong showing against Michigan in the Rose Bowl.