Cornerback DJ Waller Jr. trending in right direction, off to 'good start' at practice this week

Kentucky’s starting cornerback, DJ Waller Jr., hasn’t played since the Wildcats’ Week 1 win over Toledo. Head coach Mark Stoops sure could use his size and physicality when Texas comes to town this weekend.

One day into this week’s practice, Waller is trending in the right direction for a return on Saturday.

“Hopefully we’ll get DJ Waller back,” Stoops told Tom Leach during The Mark Stoops Show. “That’s one of our big guys that has some great length at corner. Hopefully he’ll be back at full strength, he was out there today. He looks good.“

A tricky hamstring issue has kept the Michigan transfer out of action for the last several weeks. Waller at least suited up in Kentucky’s loss to Georgia a couple of weekends ago, but he did not see any playing time. Injuries were an issue for him last season as a sophomore, and those have unfortunately carried over into his junior campaign.

With that in mind, Stoops is being extra careful with Waller, who has already suffered a setback in his recovery once this season.

“He’s been itching, he’s been wanting to get back out there,” Stoops added. “But he has the type of injury that he already tried to come back from too quick, and he injured it again. The want to is definitely there. We just have to really protect him against himself because we felt like if you aggravate that same injury a third time, he’d probably be done for the year, and we don’t want that.”

The Kentucky secondary hasn’t exactly been a bright spot so far this season. UK is giving up 248.6 yards per game through the air, which ranks 14th among all SEC teams and is fewer than 10 yards away from checking in at dead-last. But Texas quarterback Arch Manning, still incredibly talented, hasn’t performed up to preseason expectations. The Longhorns’ passing game has been middle-of-the-road at best among SEC teams.

While adding Waller back into the fold won’t guarantee an immediate fix of the secondary, it will certainly help the foundation. Sophomore Terhyon Nichols has been solid, but the rest of the unit has struggled with Waller on the mend. During Monday’s show, Leach recalled a conversation he had with Stoops back in the offseason, in which Waller was performing like one of the team’s most impactful players.

“DJ was definitely one of our best players,” Stoops said. “He’s got that physicality that you’re looking for. The length, he has speed, can cover up some of those wide-outs. Hopefully he’ll have a great week, he’s off to a good start.“

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