Kentucky redshirt freshman Maxwell Hairston working his way into cornerback rotation

Kentucky’s secondary is going to be in a much better spot than a season ago, although there are still some question marks surrounding who exactly will take over those roles. With that being said, defensive coordinator Brad White is feeling more and more comfortable with the cornerback rotation as we’re now just nine days away from opening kickoff.

Following Wednesday’s open practice, White spoke with the media to discuss what he’s seen out of his defense at this point in the offseason. The defensive line and linebackers have been receiving plenty of love throughout summer and fall camp, but it was the secondary that drew the praise this time around. White says he’s feeling good about a potential three- or even four-man rotation at cornerback.

Expected names such as Keidron Smith — a transfer during the offseason — and junior Carrington Valentine, who started 12 of 13 games for the Wildcats in 2021, were immediately mentioned. Sophomore Andru Phillips is another name that’s been tossed around as someone who’s improved in the last few months, but one particular player has been receiving consistent love from the staff and his teammates.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Maxwell Hairston could very well find himself playing significant minutes this season, especially against the early non-conference opponents. The 6-foot-1 native of Michigan did not play a snap in 2021 as a rookie, but he’s been one of the breakout defenders throughout the offseason.

He’s fighting for that fourth and final cornerback spot.

“I’ve also seen guys like Max Hairston really take a step forward,” White told the media. “He’s still young but he’s long and he can run.”

With Smith, Valentine, and Phillips all projected to soak up snaps in the secondary, that leaves White with potentially one more spot if he elects to roll with a four-man rotation. Hairston is on track to be that guy.

“I think you feel really good about a three- to a four-man rotation there,” White said about the cornerback position. “Would it mean split snaps? We’ll see. Carrington has been a guy who started for us last year and became a leader of that group. Keidron and ‘Dru can play the same. And again I think Max is a guy who can go in the game and feel comfortable with. He’s gonna have enough old guys around him to make sure that the calls and the checks are right, and his athletic ability will take over from there.”

Hairston’s fellow defensive backs have noticed his improvement this summer. Sophomore Jalen Geiger was asked who he thinks has made the biggest jump of those position players. He took no time at all to toss out his answer.

“Maxwell Hairston, he’s been making a lot of plays since the start of camp,” Geiger said on Wednesday. “I already knew he was that good, he just had to show it this year… Just making a lot of plays on the ball. He’s really athletic. I think he had like four picks in camp so he’s been making a lot of plays on the ball, really good ball hawk, and he’s fast too.”

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops agrees with all of the above. In fact, he went as far as to say that Hairston has emerged as the fourth rotational cornerback.

“Even Maxwell. A guy like Maxwell, a young guy, but he’s got some length and he’s really got great top-end speed,” Stoops said following Saturday’s scrimmage. “So it’s been really good to see him emerge as kinda like the fourth corner. But guys you can trust — you need four guys.”

A three-star prospect out of Michigan’s West Bloomfield High School, Hairston could be the piece that completes this season’s cornerback group.