Season-long injury woes, new redshirt decisions add intrigue for UK defense

Ask Mark Stoops about cornerback DJ Waller’s status, and one word is sure to follow.

Frustrating.

Waller appeared poised for a breakout season when Stoops described the Wildcat secondary as a strength of the roster during preseason camp, but he lasted just one game before suffering a hamstring injury. The former Michigan transfer has not played since, even though Kentucky expected him to be available multiple times over the past month.

“I mean, it’s frustrating, it’s aggravating,” Stoops said last Saturday after Kentucky’s win over Tennessee Tech, which Waller watched from the sideline in street clothes. “Disappointing for him. He was set to play. He practiced all week this week and just didn’t feel well enough to play.”

Waller was expected to return Oct. 18 versus Texas. He was even announced as a starter on the Kroger Field video board that day, but he suffered a setback in early warmups and did not dress out for the game.

That setback cost Waller two more games, against Tennessee and Auburn, but he returned to the field for warmups before the Nov. 8 game against Florida. He actually made it through warmups that day and dressed for the game but still did not play. After the Florida win, Stoops revealed Waller was close to being available, but the staff decided to hold him from action because it had not seen him run at full game speed. The fact that Waller could now play in the final three games and still preserve a redshirt season was a side benefit of him not playing against Florida.

But Waller was back on the sideline in street clothes a week later against Tennessee Tech.

Waller is not the only Kentucky cornerback to be sidelined by injuries this season. Sophomore Terhyon Nichols, the player who initially replaced Waller in the starting lineup, has missed the past three games with an undisclosed injury. Junior Nasir Addison, who played in just one of the first six games while battling a shoulder injury, started against Auburn and Florida but was absent for the Tennessee Tech game.

“We are going to see where we are at with Nasir, and if we can protect his redshirt, we will,” Stoops said after the game. “But he was hurt this week.”

Since Addison has already played in four games this season, he cannot play again in the regular season and still redshirt.

Holding Addison out would be easier if Kentucky could count on Waller returning for the Vanderbilt and Louisville games or Nichols to be back in action. Stoops has not elaborated on Nichols’ injury, but has not indicated he is out for the rest of the season like he did with outside linebacker Sam Greene and safety Jordan Lovett.

“We will see where it goes,” Stoops said Monday when asked about Addison’s redshirt. “A lot of our players are very unselfish and do what we ask them to do — what they want to do — to help the team down the stretch. So we’ll manage it this week.”

By redshirting this season, Addison would retain two years of eligibility for 2026 and 2027. Considering he received positive reviews for his play against Auburn and Florida, that would be a boost for a Kentucky secondary that will lose JQ Hardaway — the lone veteran cornerback who has remained healthy throughout the season — to graduation.

Heading into the offseason with a primary cornerback rotation of Waller, Nichols and Addison would mean Kentucky could devote transfer portal NIL funds to other positions. But upperclassmen electing to redshirt is often a precursor to that player entering the portal.

The plan did work out for Kentucky last season, when inside linebacker Daveren Rayner elected to play in just four games so he could return for one more season. Rayner did not transfer and has blossomed into one of the most consistent players on UK’s defense in his final college season.

“There’s trust on both sides in that regard,” defensive coordinator Brad White said earlier this month when asked about any worries that Rayner might have transferred after his 2024 redshirt season. “...I think it shows the character of Daveren. Like, ‘Hey, this is the plan.’ ‘All right, then I’m going to stick to the plan, and let’s do this. And if you guys are all in, I’m all in’. And then vice versa in that conversation. I think both sides are sort of reaping the rewards.”

With Waller, Nichols and Addison all unavailable against Tennessee Tech, freshman Grant Grayton made his first career start.

“I think he did some things that he’s probably going to be pleased with on film, and he’s going to have done some things that we know we got to get corrected,” White said of Grayton. “He’s a freshman. There were some freshman mistakes out there, and so it’s our job to get those things corrected.”

Playing against an FCS opponent — even one that entered the weekend undefeated — is not the same challenge as Kentucky will face in the final two weeks against ranked foes Vanderbilt and Louisville. It seems unlikely Kentucky would feel comfortable going into either game having to rely on a freshman to start at the position.

If Waller and/or Nichols are able to play this week, the pressure on the decision of whether to redshirt Addison decreases significantly. But even if Waller practices all week, recent history suggests it is no certainty he plays on Saturday.

“He has worked his tail (off),” Stoops said of Waller earlier this season. “He’s a guy that I have to hold back, all the way back. … With hamstrings, you think you’re ready to go, and then it’s just unfortunate.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 6:15 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription