Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston On Track to Return

A superstar is on his way back to the Kentucky defense.

On Wednesday night’s edition of The Mark Stoops Show, the Kentucky head coach revealed that Maxwell Hairston is on track to return to the football field for the Wildcats’ next game. Stoops was reluctant to share an injury update on quarterback Brock Vandagriff, who left the Tennessee game with a head injury, but was eager to share that the Kentucky defense is getting Hairston back in time for the November homestretch of the season.

Hairston has missed five straight games. He last played Sept. 21 against Ohio. In that game, he tied a school record for career pick-sixes with three. We learned the cornerback was sidelined just a few days before the Kentucky defense put Ole Miss in a chokehold.

“He texted us from the hospital telling us, ‘Man, just continue to work, continue to do what we put in the work for.’ So we really played for Max today. We played for Max and had him in the back of our head,” JQ Hardaway said after tallying the Top 10 win. “He was our motivation, for sure.”

The news could not have come at a better time. With Hardaway cramping at Neyland Stadium, the Wildcats were down to just two healthy cornerbacks for most of the game at Tennessee, Nasir Addison and true freshman Terhyon Nichols.

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Hairston was a Preseason All-SEC selection at cornerback. This fall he has eight tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and the pick six.

Kentucky is currently in the middle of a bye week. Hopefully, he isn’t the only Wildcat getting healthy. The team will be back in action at Kroger Field on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1:30 pm EST on SECN+.

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