Maxwell Hairston was PFF's highest-graded cornerback in Week 4

Maxwell Hairston was one of the stars of Kentucky‘s win over Ohio. UK’s junior cornerback tied a school record for interceptions returned for a touchdown with a pick-six, his third as a Wildcat. Hairston also matched Ohio in points scored in Saturday’s game with his third-quarter INT return.

For his Week 4 performance, Hairston received the highest Pro Football Focus grade of all cornerbacks in college football. Hairston graded out at a 92.5 in coverage, according to PFF. He was a 91.8 overall. An interception in 10 passing snaps played will do that.

Highest Graded CBs in Coverage from Week 4🔒 pic.twitter.com/Yk0ZfOl7LR

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 24, 2024

Hairston wasn’t the only Wildcat to lead his position in PFF grades. Dane Key shared the top spot as PFF’s highest-graded wide receiver in Week 4.

[Kentucky PFF Grades and Snap Counts versus Ohio]

Mark Stoops on Hairston’s interception

After Hairston’s record-tying day, Mark Stoops told Tom Leach on the Kentucky-Ohio postgame show that Hairston baited Ohio quarterback Nick Poulos into throwing it his way. Stoops admitted he was thrown off by the defense, too.

“Coach (Brad) White had a really nice call on there,” Stoops explained. “We passed the linebacker in the nickel, but we really went zone. I’m sure the quarterback thought it was man the way the Mike linebacker pushed through the zone, but we were just exchanging zones there, so it looked like man. I didn’t see it; Max and I were talking about it afterward… I thought it was Pop (Dumas-Johnson), then I look down and see it’s Maxwell… So, obviously he was trapping that, so it was good execution with Max the way we talked through it. He was sitting on him, showing soft corner, and he actually rolled up on him.”