Multiple Wildcats named Top 100 Players in College Football

As Kentucky gears up for the start of the season, plenty of rankings and lists are being released before all of the madness begins. Over at ESPN , they recently released their rankings of the top 100 players in all of college football. Included on the list are Wildcats Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston, both primed for big seasons on defense.

ESPN has Hairston slotted in at 84th overall on the list, and gave an explanation for it. "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. In a 45-28 win at Vanderbilt, Hairston returned two interceptions for touchdowns and had a career-high three pass breakups." The All-SEC cornerback is set for another big season.

Walker was much higher on the list, with ESPN having him at 21st overall in the nation. "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. 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." The defensive lineman is poised for an All-American type season, and he's already made multiple preseason All-American lists.

Pro Football Focus also released their top 50 players heading into the season, and they have Walker at 11th overall, also giving an explanation for the ranking. "Walker is an alien sent to Earth to terrorize SEC backfields. He’s 6-foot-6 and 348 pounds and revealed in a recent interview that he aims to run in the “high 4.6s” in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. For reference, the record for an interior defensive lineman is 4.67 seconds by Calijah Kancey, who is nearly 70 pounds lighter than Walker. Most defensive tackles of Walker’s size are limited to being run-stuffers. While he earned an 81.7 PFF run-defense grade last year, Walker is also an incredibly productive pass-rusher. His 51 pressures in 2023 were the most by any interior defensive lineman in college football, while his eight sacks led the Power Five."

Kentucky has a lot of talent on the roster, and a couple of players have been all over preseason lists heading into the season.