Maxwell Hairston – Syndication Server

Watch: Maxwell Hairston interview from the Senior Bowl

Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston sat down for an interview at the Senior Bowl ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft

Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston is having himself a strong week at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile. The energetic Hairston was kind enough to take a few minutes and answer some questions, via the Detroit Lions Podcast.

We went over Hairston’s background in football and how he emerged as a likely Day 2 prospect. What makes him tick on the field? He’s got a quick mind to go with his quick feet in coverage.

Hairston, a Detroit-area native, has done very well in 1-on-1s against a variety of receivers through the first two days of practices. Expect to see a lot of projections in the second round coming out of Senior Bowl week.

Mel Kiper’s first mock draft has a Wildcat going in the first round

Mel Kiper has one Kentucky Wildcat going in round one of his mock draft.

Draft season is upon us, as marked by the first edition of ESPN expert Mel Kiper’s NFL Mock Draft (subscription required).

Kiper’s 2025 NFL Mock Draft 1.0 has Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston going in the first round to the Buffalo Bills.

“Hairston is a pro-ready prospect,” Kiper said. “His awareness, burst to the ball and route-recognition skills are top-notch. Hairston was a little banged-up this season, as a shoulder injury limited him to seven games and one interception. But he had five picks the previous year, showing his ball skills.”

Hairston is standout junior cornerback for the Wildcats, as he logged 15 solo tackles, 2 forced fumbles and an interception in 2024. He spent all three years with the Wildcats, and now could head to Buffalo with the 30th overall pick in this spring’s NFL draft.

Related: Kentucky offers a pair of Florida teammates

The 6’1″ corner goes to the Bills, who could need a cornerback with standout Rasul Douglas set to be a free agent and first round pick Kaiir Elam failing to make a consistent impact.

“Drafting another receiver should be considered, and the defensive line could use reinforcements. But the cornerback spot jumps out,” Kiper said. “Buffalo allowed opponent quarterbacks to complete 68.5% of their passes, 28th in the league, and Rasul Douglas is on an expiring deal.”

Two former Wildcats are headed to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl

Former Kentucky football stars Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston will be at the 2025 Senior Bowl.

The 2024 Kentucky football season is all wrapped up, and players have made decisions on their futures. Many chose to transfer, but some are looking ahead to the NFL Draft as well. Two of them, Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston, will make a stop at the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Walker is a massive 6’6″, 360 lb defensive tackle. He clogs up the middle of the line, but has some solid pass rush ability for a guy his size. He has been as high as a first round pick in some mock drafts.

Related: Kentucky lands Clemson transfer Troy Stellato

Hairston is a talented cornerback who has shutdown ability on the outside. However, injuries limited him severely this past season, and he missed a number of games.

The Senior Bowl is one of the premiere events in the lead-up to the NFL Draft, and getting invited is an honor. Players get a chance to showcase their ability, and a good week can boost their draft stock tremendously.

The Senior Bowl will be played on February 1st with practices taking place during the week leading up to it. Good luck to Walker and Hairston while they are there.

Steelers land replacement for starting defender in new mock draft

Pittsburgh could need to draft a cornerback who can come in and start as a rookie.

By the time the 2025 NFL draft comes around, we should have a clear understanding of just what direction the Pittsburgh Steelers are going in terms of the roster. There are multiple high-profile players who are either free agents or soon-to-be free agents and Pittsburgh cannot pay them all.

One guy who is set to hit free agency is cornerback Donte Jackson. Jackson came over in the trade with the Carolina Panthers and sent Diontae Johnson packing. Jackson has been strong this season opposite Joey Porter Jr. and currently leads the team with five interceptions.

So when Dane Brugler put together his mock draft for The Athletic, he had Jackson packing in free agency and being replaced in the first round by Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston. Here’s what he had to say about the pick:

The Steelers’ cornerback unit has been a roller coaster all season. Donte Jackson, who leads the team with five interceptions, is an impending free agent; Joey Porter Jr. has looked great at times but lost on other plays (he leads all NFL defenders with 14 penalties).
Hairston missed a chunk of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury, but he is a long, twitchy cover man and doesn’t lack for confidence.

I don’t dislike Hairston as a prospect but I do question his fit with the Steelers. He’s much stronger in zone and struggles with physicality for man. This also spills over in his run support and this is something Mike Tomlin demands of his cornerbacks. Brugler doesn’t have Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison going in the first round but he’d be a more appropriate fit for the Steelers based on his strengths.

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Kentucky could get a huge boost with a returning player after the bye

Cornerback Maxwell Hairston appears ready to return to the Kentucky lineup after the bye week.

There’s no doubt that the 2024 season has not been what Kentucky football envisioned, either by fans or the team. It’s also clear that injuries to multiple key players has played a big part in the way things have gone.

However, the Wildcats could be getting some good news in that department after the bye. One key player appears set to return to the lineup.

Head coach Mark Stoops has said that he expects cornerback Maxwell Hairston to be in the lineup against Murray State when the team returns from the bye week. He has missed multiple games with a shoulder injury.

Related: Deone Walker in first round of recent mock drafts

Hairston was one of the stars of the team heading into the season. He was a preseason award nominee, and many thought he could be one of the better cornerbacks, not just in the SEC, but in the country.

A shoulder injury caused him to miss Kentucky’s last five games. His return would be a huge boost to a defense that has struggled in recent weeks without him.

Is Maxwell Hairston playing today? Injury updates for the Kentucky cornerback

Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston is dealing with a shoulder injury. Here are the latest updates.

Kentucky football plays Auburn on Saturday night and it’s a must win game. The Wildcats have lost two straight games and find themselves with a 3 – 4 record overall, and just 1 – 4 verus SEC opponents.

Injuries have certainly played a part in Kentucky’s recent struggles. They’ll be without multiple starters once again when the play the Tigers.

One of their stars, Maxwell Hairston, has been dealing with an injury that has cause him to miss Kentucky’s last three games. What is his status for Saturday?

Maxwell Hairston injury update

Maxwell Hairston will miss his fourth consecutive game against Auburn with a nagging shoulder injury.

How long will Maxwell Hairston be out?

His long-term status is still unknown at this point. He’s the most talented cornerback on the team, and his return would be a huge boost.

Kentucky cornerback depth chart

D.J. Waller will likely start in place of Waller, with Freshman Terhyon Nichols certain to play as well. Auburn’s offense isn’t one of the higher-scoring in the nation, but they do pass the ball well. With Hairston out, Kentucky will need the secondary to bounce back after a tough game against Florida.

Cornerback Maxwell Hairston will be out again versus Vanderbilt

Maxwell Hairston won’t play for Kentucky football after being listed as out on the availability report.

Kentucky football was without the services of cornerback Maxwell Hairston when the upset Ole Miss in week five. If they want to take out Vanderbilt this week, they’ll have to do it without their top defensive back once again.

The first availability report of the week was released on Wednesday night and Hairston has already been given the “out” designation. He is one of ten players on the report for Kentucky.

Related: Kentucky vs Vanderbilt: Five things to watch for

Running back Chip Trayanum joins Hairston as “out” on Saturday, as he continues to deal with his hand injury. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff also showed up this week, although he is listed as “probable.”

The SEC teams will continue to update the availability report throughout the rest of the week, including on final update on Saturday. Here is the full list of names on Wednesday night’s first report of the week. Players can be listed as out, doubtful, questionable, or probable, which translates to 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% chance to play respectively.

Chip Trayanum – Running back: Out

Maxwell Hairston – Cornerback: Out

Josaih Hayes – Defensive line: Out

Tavion Gadson – Defensive line: Out

Darrion Henry-Young – Defensive line: Out

Terhyon Nichols – Cornerback: Doubtful

Brock Vandagriff – Quarterback: Probable

Keeshawn Silver – Defensive line: Probable

Courtland Ford – Offensive line: Probable

Hardley Gilmore IV – Wide receiver: Probable

Kentucky suffers a huge blow as a key defender is ruled out vs Ole Miss

Cornerback Maxwell Hairston has been ruled out for Kentucky football vs Ole Miss.

On Saturday, Kentucky football will face its second top five team of the season when they travel to play Ole Miss. It is a difficult matchup with one of the top offenses in the country, and now it will be even tougher with cornerback Maxwell Hairston being ruled out.

Hairston showed up on the availability report on Thursday, as questionable, but on Friday, that status was changed to “out.” Against an offense like Ole Miss, that’s a devastating turn of events.

Related: Chip Trayanum ruled out vs Ole Miss

Hairston is not only Kentucky’s best cornerback, he’s one of the top DBs in the country. His ability to lock down one receiver would be helpful against an offense that hasn’t scored less than 40 points in a game this year.

With Hairston out, Mark Stoops will likely rely on JQ Hardaway and some of the depth pieces at cornerback to step up. Transfer D.J. Waller could see plenty of minutes, and get a chance to show what he can do.

It’s a tough game to have to miss, but the Cats are off the following week, giving Hairston time to hopefully get his shoulder feeling 100%.

Best photos from Kentucky football’s Week 4 victory over Ohio Bobcats

We take a look at some of the best photos from the Wildcats’ 41-6 win over Ohio on Saturday.

The Kentucky Wildcats got back in the win column Saturday with a much-needed 41-6 victory over the Ohio Bobcats at Kroger Field.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak after Kentucky was blown out by South Carolina in Week 2, only to take the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs down to the wire a week later in Lexington.

After a slow start Saturday, the offense found the end-zone for the first time in nine quarters. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye had two short touchdown runs and Barion Brown had a 23-yard rush for a score.

Quarterback Brock Vandagriff finished 17-of-24 for 237 yards with receiver Dane Key hauling in seven catches for a career-high 145 yards. The Wildcats finished the afternoon with 488 total yards.

Defensively, Kentucky held Ohio to 223 yards. Cornerback Maxwell Hairston had a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter that gave Kentucky a 27-0 lead en route to the victory.

Kentucky will face No. 5 Ole Miss next Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon ET.

Here are some of the best photos from Kentucky’s victory over Ohio at Kroger Field Saturday.

There are two big availability downgrades on Friday for Kentucky football

Maxwell Hairston and Gerald Mincey were both downgraded to questionable on Friday.

Throughout the week, SEC teams are required to submit availability reports, designating any player with an injury with either Out, Doubful, Questionable, or Probable. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff was added to the report on Thursday, listed as probable.

On Friday, an updated availability report from Kentucky downgraded two Wildcats starters, and it could have a huge impact on the game.

Cornerback Maxwell Hairston and tackle Gerald Mincey are both now listed as questionable for Saturday’s game. That means they have a 50% chance of playing against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Related: Kentucky vs Georgia: Five things to watch for

The absence of either, or both, of those players would be a blow to any hopes Kentucky had of keeping the game close.

Hairston is the team’s best cornerback, and started the season on the preseason watch lists for both the Jim Thorpe Award and the Bednarik Award. If he misses the game, it will certainly aid Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.

Mincey starts at right tackle for the Cats, and on an offensive line that was beaten up last week, they can’t afford more missing players. Guard Jager Burton is already listed as out.

The Wildcats will update the availability report on Saturday, before the game against top-ranked Georgia.