DJ Waller Jr. misses Kentucky's first fall camp scrimmage

Michigan cornerback DJ Waller Jr. was a surprise spring transfer portal entry. Kentucky quickly made a move on the Youngstown native and landed a commitment from Waller once the Big Ten transfer was a free agent. The expectation was that the former three-star recruit who played 120-plus defensive snaps as a true freshman for Michigan’s national championship team in 2023 would immediately compete for a starting position opposite Maxwell Hairston.

Winning that starting position by Week 1 could prove to be difficult now. DJ Waller Jr. was a surprise absence in Kentucky’s first fall camp scrimmage on Saturday at Kroger Field.

“Waller wasn’t able to play today,” Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said on Saturday. “He has a slight injury, should be back early this week. Got hurt yesterday after practice doing some extra work, but nothing major.”

Everything sounds good for Waller long-term, but that did present another opportunity for some veterans in Kentucky’s cornerback room. Jantzen Dunn was running with the first unit during open practices and JQ Hardaway was with the twos. Those two cornerbacks likely got most of the CB2 and CB3 snaps on Saturday. Nasir Addison is another player making a push for playing time. Some momentum is also building for true freshman Terhyon Nichols.

DJ Waller Jr. will likely have a big role in this defense but might not be the starter in Week 1. Last season, Jeremy Flax was able to hold off spring transfer Courtland Ford. Keidron Smith did not start in Week 1 in 2022 after being a late addition to the roster. Waller is following a similar path. Regardless of who wins the job, we should probably expect a healthy rotation early in the year as Kentucky tries to find the best player to play opposite Hairston at cornerback.

Kentucky’s Class of 2025

Player	High School	Position	Ranking
Cedric Works	Clayton (Ohio) Northmont	EDGE (6-5, 230)	4-star (No. 147 overall)
Marquise Davis	Cleveland (Ohio) Heights	RB (5-11, 200)	4-star (No. 160 overall)
Javeon Campbell	Frankfort (Ky.) Western Hills	DL (6-5, 260)	4-star (No. 165 overall)
Martels Carter	Paducah (Ky.) Tilghman	S (6-1, 185)	4-star (No. 172 overall)
Quintin Simmons	Cincinnati (Ohio) Withrow	WR (6-0, 170)	4-star (No. 327 overall)
Kalen Edwards	Dyersburg (Tenn.) High	iDL (6-4, 325)	4-star (No. 357 overall)
Darrin Strey	Paw Paw (Mich.) High	T (6-6, 295)	High 3-star (No. 401 overall)
Ja’Kayden Ferguson	Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall	WR (6-2, 175)	High 3-star (No. 430 overall)
Andrew Purcell	Enterprise (Ala.) High	CB (5-10, 185)	High 3-star (No. 479 overall)
Stone Saunders	Harrisburg (Pa.) Bishop McDevitt	QB (6-0, 205)	3-star (No. 664 overall)
Demarcus Gardner	Cedartown (Ga.) High	CB (6-0, 165)	3-star (No. 689 overall)
Brennen Ward	Gahanna (Ohio) Lincoln	QB (6-2, 205)	3-star (No. 759 overall)
Jermiel Atkins	Trotwood (Ohio) Madison	T (6-8, 270)	3-star (No. 868 overall)
Preston Bowman	Pickerington (Ohio) North	WR (6-0, 196)	3-star (No. 1,033 overall)
Bryan Auguste	Coconut Creek (Fla.) Monarch	T (6-6, 285)	3-star (No. 1,077 overall)
Tucker Kattus	Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier	OL (6-5, 300)	3-star (No. 1,130 overall)
Nicholas Smith	Loganville (Ga.) Walnut Grove	DL (6-7, 255)	3-star (No. 1,396 overall)