Kentucky will need to replace its top cornerback after Maxwell Hairston declares for draft
Little about Maxwell Hairston’s 2024 Kentucky football season went according to plan, but it will still reach the expected conclusion with him declaring for the NFL draft Monday.
Hairston opened the season as a top-50 NFL draft prospect, according to The Athletic, but he was slowed early in the season by a shoulder injury. He then missed five consecutive games with an undisclosed issue that included a hospital stay.
Kentucky was able to overcome Hairston’s absence to upset No. 6 Ole Miss on the road in the first game he missed, but the hit to its secondary eventually caught up in a four-game losing streak. Hairston returned to the field for the final three games, but Kentucky was able to win just one of those, against FCS Murray State.
Despite the long absence, Hairston’s draft stock did not change much, at least according to The Athletic’s 2025 NFL draft prospects ranking, where he only fell from No. 32 in the preseason ranking to No. 38 in the midseason update. Hairston was able to return in time to face a group of high profile Texas receivers, adding another piece of film for NFL scouts.
Hairston could also be helped by Kentucky’s recent record sending defensive backs to the NFL. Six different UK defensive backs have been drafted since 2019, including New York Giants 2024 third-round pick Andru Phillips. Hairston and Phillips played together at cornerback in 2023, offering scouts who were evaluating Phillips plenty of opportunity to watch Hairston too. That season, Hairston tied for the SEC lead with five interceptions.
Hairston leaves UK with a share of the school record with three interceptions returned for touchdowns in his career.
How Maxwell Hairston’s departure affects Kentucky’s 2025 roster
The good news about Hairston’s long-term absence this season was the younger cornerbacks on the roster received important snaps they might not have otherwise.
If no one from the group enters the transfer portal, UK will return starter JQ Hardaway and former Michigan transfer DJ Waller, who started in place of Hairston while he was unavailable. Freshman Tehryon Nichols also started one game after Waller was sidelined by his own injury.
“I think he’s going to be a really good player,” Stoops said of Nichols late in the season. “Good young guy, true freshman. Gotten a lot of reps, fought through some injury, doesn’t blink and just continues to go out there and play hard.”
It would be dangerous though for Kentucky to rely on that group, plus sophomore backup Nasir Addison, considering the struggles while Hairston was out. There is reason to hope for improvement from the young cornerbacks, but a transfer still might be needed. Kentucky did sign one cornerback in four-star Alabama prospect Andrew Purcell in its 2025 high school class, but the best-case scenario for him might be a role similar to Nichols’ this season.
UK landed a commitment from former Maryland cornerback Kevis Thomas in its 2025 transfer portal class over the weekend. Thomas started six games for Maryland last season and could compete for a starting job at UK in 2025 but probably enters the winter behind at least Hardaway, Nichols and Waller on the depth chart.
This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 2:30 PM.