Kentucky was without star defensive back Maxwell Hairston for its 20-17 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, and his status moving forward is still up in the air, according to head coach Mark Stoops.

Hairston is dealing with a shoulder injury, and played through it against both Georgia and Ohio but was unable to suit up against the Rebels. Luckily for the Wildcats, Kentucky is on its bye during Week 6, giving Hairston added time to recover.

“He’s doing better. He’s recovering and doing better,” Stoops told local media on Wednesday. “But he’ll be out for the short — I don’t know. I’ll update you later but he’s out for now.”

While Hairston’s injury timeline is uncertain as of Stoops’ report, the Wildcats are encouraged by the performance of the rest of its defensive back unit.

Against the nation’s No. 1 team in total offense in Ole Miss, quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 261 yards, but more importantly held him to one touchdown through the air. Kentucky’s defensive line controlled the game with four sacks and seven tackles for loss to keep the Rebels in check for nearly the entire game.

The Wildcats held Dart and company to 60 yards across three drives in the fourth quarter — 44 of which came on their final drive, which resulted in the botched field goal attempt that won Kentucky the game. Kentucky’s defensive backs collectively came up big on more than one occasion on that final drive, including getting a big third down stop against a deep ball to star wideout Tre Harris.

Kentucky’s motivated defensive performance was ultimately the difference in the game, and doing so without its all-conference performance on the corner is a testament of how defensive coordinator Brad White always has his group ready on any given Saturday.

While Kentucky rests this weekend, the Wildcats will hope to have their momentum continue in Week 7 at home against Vanderbilt and quarterback Diego Pavia on Oct. 12.

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