By Erik Harris, sports editor
PINSON — The state’s top-rated senior — Pinson Valley athlete Ga’Quincy McKinstry — is keeping his eye on the ball.
Despite the distractions created by the novel coronavirus, McKinstry, known best as “Kool-Aid” around PVHS, is focused on his senior season.
“I’m just focused on getting it started,” said McKinstry. “I really don’t put my thoughts into all that extra stuff. I leave that up to the people who need to deal with it. I just worry about what I can worry about.”
McKinstry will have plenty of on-field responsibilities to keep him occupied this fall, as he gears up to pull double-duty for first-year Pinson Valley head coach Sam Shade.
It’s certainly nothing he can’t handle.
“The good thing about him is that he’s played on both sides of the ball for a long time,” said Shade of McKinstry. “He’s got a really solid foundation in both offense and defense, so he doesn’t need more work on one side of the ball that the other side of the ball.
Offensively, he will line up out wide as a receiver. As a junior last fall, he pulled in 47 receptions for 700 yards and 12 touchdowns.
It is, however, his accomplished play as a cornerback that’s landed him national recognition — McKinstry is considered the second-ranked corner in America and checks in at No. 22 overall in the Class of 2021, according to 247Sports.
He is one of the few pieces returning from an Indians’ defense that allowed an average of 13 points per game last year, as Pinson Valley finished at 10-3 thanks to a 31-28 semifinal loss to eventual 6A state champion Oxford. The Indians pitched three shutouts and held seven opponents to seven points or fewer in 2019.
Rising senior defensive lineman Julian Peterson, a first-team All-Tribune performer in 2019 and recent Troy commit, played a major role on last year’s unit. He could be the team’s premier pass rusher alongside Air Force commit James Perkins.
Those two will be aided up front by the addition of transfer linebacker Noah Steen, who makes the move over from Center Point this season. Steen was a first-teamer on the 2019 All-Tribune roster, as he secured 83 stops, including 11 tackles for a loss for the Eagles. He also forced one fumble, pulled down an interception and scored a touchdown for a stingy Center Point defense.
Pinson Valley adds another newcomer to its offensive huddle, as rising junior quarterback Zach Pyron joins the Tribe after two seasons as a starter at Class 2A Fyffe, where he went 30-0 with two state titles.
Shade says he sees great leadership qualities in his new quarterback.
“He’s a good sized kid — 6’3”, 210 and for a quarterback, he really works hard in the weight room,” said Shade. “And he’s adjusted to our offense pretty well.”
The big righty earned first-team all-state honors as a sophomore last year, as he ran for 1,018 yards and 19 scores for the 2A state champs. He also threw for another 650 yards and seven touchdowns.
He believes his best quality is his ability to make something out of a broken play. “If the pocket breaks down, I feel like I’m able to get out and make a play, either with my feet or with my arm,” said Pyron. “That’s what I feel like I bring to the table is my playmaking ability when a play breaks down.”
Joining Pyron in the backfield will be running back Kenji Christian, who made the most of a slim workload last season. Despite a modest 63 carries in 2019, Christian has attracted scholarship offers from Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss. He finished his junior season with 451 yards rushing on only 63 attempts. He also scored four touchdowns.
Leading the group up front will be 6’5” offensive tackle Rayvon Crum, who has attracted scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Kansas and Arizona State. Auburn has also shown interest in the big left tackle this summer.
Pyron can rest easy knowing Crum is protecting his blind side while McKinstry breaks free.
“If I see he’s one-on-one with somebody, I know I’ve just got to put it somewhere he (McKinstry) can catch it, and he makes me look good a lot,” said Pyron. “I’ve got a lot of receivers on the team that can do that. A lot of them.”