"I wasn't going to let that happen again." Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston was ready for Vandy rematch
Kentucky defensive back Maxwell Hairston was put in a tough spot against Vanderbilt last season. Then a redshirt freshman, he was thrust into action to replace an injured Carrington Valentine, now with the Green Bay Packers, where he gave up a devastating 40-yard pass to the Commodores that set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Less than a year later, Hairston got his revenge in record-breaking fashion.
“I slept on that many nights,” Hairston said after Kentucky beat Vanderbilt 45-28 on Saturday. “That one hurt, and I just knew this year coming into Vandy, that I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I wanted to come better prepared, more confident, and I feel like I did that. When I’m out there with my brothers, I feel like I’m on top of the world.”
His payback came in the form of school history — the first-ever Kentucky player to record two interception returns for touchdowns in a single game. The first came not even midway through the opening quarter, a 29-yard pick-6. The second came in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, a 54-yard pick-6.
“I’m thinking just run. Don’t even think about nothing, just run,” Hairston added.
“I was proud of my boy,” UK senior linebacker D’Eryk Jackson said postgame. “He got two picks — I think that was the first time that happened in Kentucky history. I’m proud of him.”
In addition to his pair of defensive touchdowns, Hairston also recorded four solo tackles and three pass deflections. Kentucky’s cornerback room came into the season with some question marks, but Hairston — along with redshirt junior Andru Phillips — has been making that position a strength through four games so far. He was targeted 12 times by the Vanderbilt defense on Saturday but allowed just three catches.
“He gets more and more confidence the more and more he plays,” Head coach Mark Stoops said of Hairston postgame. “Both him and Andru are really playing at a good level right now. They both are doing some really good things. It’s good for him.”
This could be just the beginning for Hairston, too. A former three-star recruit out of West Bloomfield (MI) High, the 6-foot-1 defensive back redshirted his freshman season in 2021 before seeing scattered playing time during his 2022 campaign. Now a full-time starter, he’s improving every single week, but by his own admission, there is still plenty to work on — the sign of a dedicated athlete.
“I need to improve on everything,” Hairston said when asked to critique his performance. “There’s still a lot I need to get better on, so I’m gonna continue to put the work in during the week to try and fix my mistakes.”
So far this season, Hairston has recorded 23 total tackles (17 solo), 1.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions (with the two touchdowns), three pass deflections, and one forced fumble. And yet, he doesn’t consider himself one of the top defensive backs in the Southeastern Conference — not yet, at least.
“I don’t think I’ve made it yet,” Hairston added. “I feel like I’ve still got a lot to prove and I just want to go every week, try to get better, study my opponents more and more, and I just want to go out there and continue with my brothers. Have fun.”
Hairston’s humility is always what you want to hear from a player on the rise, but his advanced numbers paint a slightly different story — one that the coaches and fans will surely want to brag about. Hairston grades out as the third-best cornerback in the country, according to Pro Football Focus, with a score of 85.8. The two players ahead of him have played at least 70 fewer snaps each, as well. His coverage grade of 89.6 just barely ranks second nationally behind only Duke’s Myles Jones, who has a coverage grade of 89.7 but on 92 fewer snaps.
Something special is brewing within Brad White’s secondary. Hairston is a major reason why.
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