Maxwell Hairston has committed to Kentucky's player development plan

Kentucky is a recruit and develop program. The Wildcats are never truly going to be one of the elite high school recruiting operations in the Southeastern Conference. This football program must have a keen eye for raw talent, find players that fit their schemes, and develop players once they arrive on campus.

Redshirt sophomore cornerback Maxwell Hairston is fitting in nicely with Kentucky’s recruit and develop blueprint. The West Bloomfield (Mich.) High product was a mid three-star recruit who was the No. 913 ranked prospect and the No. 85 cornerback in the 2021 On3 Industry Ranking. However, the third-year defensive back could be on his way to playing above that ranking.

In open practice settings, Hairston has been running with the ones since spring. The Greater Detroit native hit the books and weight room hard this offseason to carve out a role on Kentucky’s defense.

“The biggest thing he’s done is attack the weight room. Working hard at being intentional about his body and changing his body,” Kentucky defensive backs coach Chris Collins told KSR about Hairston on Thursday. “Secondly, he’s grown his process of understanding his role and the pieces around him, and being intentional on how to take notes, how to study film.”

Andru Phillips says that Hairston is sometimes the first player in the meeting room to study film. The young cornerback is an active participant in meetings and is becoming a true student of the game.

“He’s made strides in every last category there is to make strides,” Phillips said.

Cornerback was a position of concern for Kentucky entering fall camp, but it appears that Maxwell Hairston has taken full control of a starting spot. The 6-foot-1, 181-pound defensive back that recorded 16 pass breakups, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles as a high school senior will look to give the defense some more playmaking in coverage.

The Wildcats could have another highly successful recruit and develop story cooking.