Alabama coach Nick Saban was quick to defend Crimson Tide star cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry’s ability to return punts after Alabama’s 49-21 win over Kentucky on Saturday.

McKinstry muffed a punt in the first quarter, which Kentucky recovered. The Wildcats took advantage of great field position, scoring a touchdown to make it a 21-7 game.

McKinstry remained on punt return duties for the rest of the game. When asked about the drop, Saban said Alabama’s coverage team put McKinstry in a difficult spot.

“The gunner on that side ran into him when he missed the punt,” Saban said. “That's the gunner's responsibility. You can't look up and catch a ball and worry about somebody that's running down the field blocking for you running into you.”

McKinstry, who was a stellar punt returner last season, has misjudged some punts this campaign and is averaging just 6.15 yards per return.

When asked about sticking with McKinstry earlier in the season, Saban said some punters can make the ball travel differently than a typical punt, making it harder to field. He referenced that again Saturday, and said Alabama’s blockers have to be aware of that in order to not get in McKinstry’s way.

“I just think players around him have to do a little bit better job because when you get these radical punts you don't get easy balls to field,” Saban said. “You got to cover a lot of ground to catch it and that launch point of where he's catching it changes for the people that are blocking for him. So I'm not making excuses for anybody, but you can't blame him for that one in my opinion."

While Saban remains confident in McKinstry and will likely look to work on Alabama's punt return techniques as a whole, if McKinstry continues to struggle, Alabama could look to replace him on punt return duties. This would allow McKinstry to focus solely on defense, where he's once again been one of Alabama's best players.

With a game against Chattanooga next Saturday, perhaps that could be the perfect time for Saban to experiment with a new return man.