ESPN queue up pair of Wildcats among top 100 players in college football

A pair of Wildcats have been ranked among the top 100 players in college football this season by ESPN.

After not being included in the top 100 a year ago, Kentucky junior nose tackle Deone Walker checked in at No. 21. Among SEC players, Walker is ranked ninth and third among defensive lineman.

“The 6-6, 348-pound junior has started 24 straight games. Despite frequent double-teams, Walker led the Wildcats with 12.5 tackles for loss last season and finished eighth in the SEC with 7.5 sacks,” ESPN wrote. “He was a first-team All-SEC selection by the AP and is equally disruptive against both the run and pass. Walker also has incredible footwork.”

UK junior cornerback Maxwell Hairston was slotted at No. 84 overall, up 13 spots from last year’s ranking, and the No. 8 cornerback in the top 100.

“The junior from Michigan was ranked outside the top 100 cornerback prospects when he signed with the Wildcats in 2021. Last season, he led the SEC and ranked fifth nationally with five interceptions,” ESPN wrote. “In a 45-28 win at Vanderbilt, Hairston returned two interceptions for touchdowns and had a career-high three pass breakups.”

Walker, a 6-foot-6, 348-pound defensive lineman from Detroit, is coming off a sensational sophomore season in 2023. Despite battling frequent double teams, he led the Blue and White in tackles for loss (12.5), quarterback sacks (7.5) and quarterback hurries (8). He also added two pass breakups, including one in Kentucky’s win over Florida on Sept. 30, which was intercepted by UK and returned to the UF 15-yard line that led to an eventual touchdown.

The Wildcat was named one of seven permanent team captains last season, as he went on to play in and start all 13 games. In fact, he improved his streak to 24 straight starts, a stretch dating back to his freshman season in 2022. Walker set or tied single-game career highs in every category last season, including recording nine tackles at South Carolina, 4.0 tackles for loss (-7 yards) at Missouri, 1.0 sacks (-6 yards) last at South Carolina, one pass breakup last at Georgia and two quarterback hurries against EKU.

Walker earned First Team All-SEC honors from multiple selectors and was a Third Team All-America choice by the College Football Network in 2023.

He is currently on the watch lists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Outland Trophy and the Chuck Bednarik Award. He has also received preseason All-America nods from Walter Camp (Second Team), Athlon Sports (Second Team) and Phil Steele (Second Team).

Hairston, a 6-foot-1, 186-pounder from Detroit, totaled five interceptions in 2023, including four in SEC action, and ranked fifth in the nation in that category. His five interceptions tied for fifth-most interceptions in a single season in program history, the most since Sam Maxwell in 2009 (six). He totaled 131 interception return yards, the most since Greg Long had 176 return yards in 1981.

The Wildcat had two interceptions alone at Vanderbilt, returning both for touchdowns, tying an SEC single-game record. He was named National Defensive Player of the Week and National Defensive Back of the Week for that game.

Along with his league-high five takeaways, Hairston ranked eighth in the SEC in passes defended in 2023 with 11.