Kentucky associate coach Vince Marrow was thrilled when Buffalo drafted Maxwell Hairston. (UK Athletics Photo)
Vince Marrow knew that cornerback Maxwell Hairston’s Kentucky statistics and combine numbers — had the fastest 40-yard dash at the NFL combine — had impressed NFL personnel.
“All the NFL people I was talking to said he might be in play with pick 18 or 19,” said Marrow, UK’s associate coach and NFL liaison. “I told him and his dad that anything before 25 to 30 is a bonus.”
Hairston ended up being picked 30th by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of April’s NFL draft.
“The look on his face (when he was drafted) … every time somebody was picked (before him), he would jump up and you would think he got an interception. He celebrated with all of them,” Marrow, who attended the draft in Green Bay, said. “I was texting with the Bills and kept telling him that everything was good. I was texting with one of the head scouts (of the Bills) and they didn’t think he was going to get to them.”
Not long after that former UK running back Ray Davis, a 2024 Buffalo draft pick, texted Marrow telling him that the Bills were going to get Hairston.
“Ray told me, ‘They love him,’ and I said I think he’s going to Buffalo, too,” Marrow said. “I was drafted by Buffalo years ago and just to be drafted into that fraternity and the opportunity of hearing your name being called is a blessing. But to do it in the first round, I think that is just way beyond what you can imagine.
“Maxwell was so excited and so was I. I like all the teams but I have a special place in my heart for Buffalo. I am very close with those guys and I couldn’t be happier that he is going to Buffalo.”
The Bills received high grades overall from the national media for taking Hairston in the first round.
“They had to get an upgrade at that position and he should start as a rookie. He excels as a man-cover player, which means maybe the Bills will play more of it this season,” CBS Sports’ NFL analyst Pete Prisco said. “The Bills had to get a corner, a young edge and inside player for their defense. They got all three in the first four rounds. That’s good drafting.
“Hairston will be a star. He plays with an attitude that you love at the position.”
The Bills also used a fourth-round pick on UK defensive lineman Deone Walker. That’s why Marrow now refers to them as the Buffalo Wildcats rather than the Buffalo Bills.
One Response
If Hairston and Walker would have been healthy last year our season would have been a little better.