'Oh Yeah!' Kool-Aid McKinstry adds flavor to NFL nickname game
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Brianna Williams, ESPN
The 2024 NFL draft places an immense spotlight on college football’s biggest stars.
Some players are used to the attention. For obvious reasons, Kool-Aid McKinstry is one of them.
What to know for the 2024 NFL draft
The New York Jets star cornerback was selected fourth overall in the 2022 NFL draft, but he always had the “sauce.”
Born Ahmad Gardner, the Detroit native was dubbed “A1 Sauce Sweet Feet” by a youth football coach due to his elusiveness.
He memorably donned not one, but two chains brandishing his moniker for his draft day outfit.
Brrrrr ?#Bearcats | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/1YGTTJ2ISq
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) April 28, 2022
“When I’m on and off the field, I make sure I’ve got the sauce. That just keeps me going,” Gardner told The New York Post. “When I’m in my little calm mood, it’s just me being Ahmad. The Sauce is within me, so I’m always Sauce. I have to know when to flip the switch up and turn the switch off.”
In his rookie season, he signed an endorsement deal with Buffalo Wild Wings and his own signature condiment called “Sauce Sauce,” described as a smoky sweet and spicy barbecue.
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Deebo Samuel explains how his name was inspired by the movie ‘Friday’
Deebo Samuel says his father named him Deebo after the bully in the movie “Friday.”
If it was up to the San Francisco 49ers receiver, he would’ve been known by his legal name: Tyshun.
NFL draft specials on 
Our experts get you ready for Round 1. Watch now. 0:31 Oklahoma’s Mayfield’s 5th TD pass goes for 77 yards Baker Mayfield throws a 77-yard strike to Marquise Brown in the fourth quarter.
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The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver received his nickname much later than his aforementioned peers.
In November 2017, TV announcer Gus Johnson coined the name during a legendary call of Brown’s 77-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown in Oklahoma’s 62-52 win over Oklahoma State.
Johnson was referencing Marquise Brown’s hometown, Hollywood, Florida.
“It kind of just stuck,” Brown said. “Everyone started calling me it.”
