Maxwell Hairston could have taken the easy route and made the conventional decision even if it meant bypassing an opportunity to finish his high school football career with a state championship.
In January 2021, the coronavirus pandemic delayed the Michigan playoffs for two months, overlapping with Hairston鈥檚 scheduled enrollment at Kentucky to play cornerback for the Wildcats. Other players moved on to college. Hairston didn鈥檛 want to be like most players. He wanted to create a lifetime memory.
A waiver secured to participate post-graduation, Hairston delayed his move to Kentucky to play in West Bloomfield鈥檚 41-0 win over Davison to clinch the school鈥檚 first state title. Memory created. History made.
West Bloomfield defensive backs聽Maxwell Hairston, right, and BJ Rankin celebrate their team's 41-0 state championship game win in January 2021.
鈥淭hat just really spoke volumes about the team player he was and is,鈥 said Ron Bellamy, who was the Lakers鈥 coach. 鈥淭his kid said, 鈥楥oach, let me finish. I have unfinished business.鈥 鈥
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It also was emblematic of how Hairston has handled his football business ever since. Yes, it鈥檚 about his individual development and striving for the NFL, but all in the name of the team, the team, the team. Winning and leading, working and improving.
A day after posing with the trophy 鈥 everybody had masks on in the pictures 鈥 Hairston left for Kentucky to start a journey that has led him to the Buffalo Bills.
From Orchard Lake Middle School to Orchard Park. The 30th pick in Thursday鈥檚 NFL draft, he should enter training camp with the Bills in late July as the favorite to start opposite Christian Benford. He鈥檚 that fast (4.28-second 40-yard dash) and was that productive in college with five interceptions in 2023 before an injury-riddled 2024.
Hairston is ready for all of it. Just ask his circle of coaches and friends interviewed by The Buffalo News via phone on Friday.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the kind of kid who wants to take the last shot in basketball,鈥 said Bellamy, now the receivers coach at Michigan. 鈥淚n football, it鈥檚, 鈥楶ut me on the best guy.鈥 In track, he said, 鈥業 want to run the anchor (leg).鈥 He鈥檚 always been the guy who says, 鈥楶ut the burden on my shoulders, I want to compete.鈥 鈥
Focusing on football
Bellamy, who played at Michigan and appeared in four games with the Miami Dolphins, coached middle school basketball when Hairston was in his early teens.
鈥淏elieve it or not, Maxwell took basketball more seriously than he did football early on,鈥 Bellamy said. 鈥淗e was a short guy, but was really explosive as a point guard.鈥
Hairston showed decent shooting range and point guard-like leadership abilities and could slash to the bucket. He played on the freshman and junior varsity teams for West Bloomfield.
Early in Hairston鈥檚 high school career, Bellamy and basketball coach Jeremy Denha had a conversation.
Hairston was probably a Division I basketball prospect because of his athleticism, but he was definitely a Division I football prospect because his 6-foot-1 frame, fluidity and speed made him attractive to recruiters.
West Bloomfield defensive back Maxwell Hairston, right, breaks up a pass during a Michigan Division 1 semifinal against Belleville on Jan. 16, 2021, in Belleville, Mich.
Bellamy and Denha suggested Hairston focus on football and he agreed.
鈥淗e never got to me (on the varsity basketball team),鈥 Denha said.
Hairston was a late bloomer in football. He played on the freshman team as a ninth-grader and junior varsity as a sophomore. He became a full-time starter halfway through his junior year and never looked back.
鈥淵ou could see his hunger to get better,鈥 Bellamy said.
Hairston was convinced football was his spot after receiving a scholarship offer from Miami (Ohio).
鈥淚 just fell in love with football and when I got my first offer, that really told me, 鈥榊ou might have a future in this,鈥 he told The News. 鈥淚 promised my parents when I was a kid that they wouldn鈥檛 have to pay for me to go school. (Earning a scholarship) was a dream come true.鈥
Hairston was offered by Kentucky in July 2020 and Bellamy estimated 20-25 total offers before and during the championship senior season.
West Bloomfield ended its regular season on Nov. 14, but didn鈥檛 open the playoffs until Jan. 9 because a Covid uptick in Michigan halted activities.
鈥淭here were times I was a little worried (the season was over), but I kept the faith,鈥 Hairston said. 鈥淚 knew 鈥楤ig Gretch鈥 (Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer) wouldn鈥檛 do us like that and would come through in the end.鈥
The state re-started athletics and West Bloomfield won playoff games on Jan. 9, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23. In that championship senior season, Hairston was all-state with three interceptions among his 19 pass break-ups. He scored eight touchdowns on offense.
Hairston left for Kentucky a day after the state title win.
Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston bats away a pass intended for Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond during game Nov. 23, 2024, in Austin, Texas.
Frustrating 2024 season
Hairston鈥檚 road to success at Kentucky wasn鈥檛 a straight line.
He redshirted in 2021, using the season to add strength and football knowledge and was a backup in 2022 (two tackles). But after the Wildcats鈥 Music City Bowl loss to Iowa in Nashville, Tennessee, he was walking out of the stadium with his father, Marvin, when he spotted defensive backs coach Chris Collins.
鈥淕etting my feet dirty in that game and actually getting some reps, it showed me, 鈥榊ou can hang with these dudes. You belong out there,鈥欌 Hairston said. 鈥淚 told Coach Collins, 鈥楴ext year is my year.鈥欌
Hairston elevated his preparation to a new level in the spring 2023.
鈥淗e was in the building all of the time on his own accord,鈥 Collins said. 鈥淗e really bought into that and it paid dividends.鈥
Paid dividends and paved his way to the NFL. Hairston started 13 games for Kentucky and had five interceptions, including touchdown returns of 29 and 54 yards, and was named second-team All-SEC.
鈥淲e built a plan and saw tremendous growth,鈥 Collins said.
Before and during the season, Hairston bonded with transfer running back Ray Davis, who was drafted by the Bills last year.
鈥淭he man was out there setting records and he was out there making plays tackling and breaking up passes,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淗e did everything we needed.鈥
Hairston opted to return to Kentucky in 2024 for his redshirt junior year. Improve his draft stock. Finish his degree. The season derailed quickly, though.
Hairston sustained a mild shoulder separation against Ohio on Sept. 21, a game in which he scored on a 25-yard interception return. The typical recovery time is 2-4 weeks, but Hairston missed five games because one of the needles 鈥渨as a little messed up,鈥 caused an infection and forced his hospitalization. He finished with one interception in seven games.
鈥淚t was a little disheartening because he felt he was ready to come back (after the shoulder injury) and then he had another setback and it was just unforeseen,鈥 Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. 鈥淏ut he always there for his teammates.鈥
Hairston declared for the draft and made an impression at the scouting combine with the 40-yard dash time, which was fastest of any player.
鈥淗e鈥檚 not afraid to mix it up (physically) and he鈥檒l be a tackler when he needs to be, but he has top-end speed and very good ball skills,鈥 Stoops said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be a learning curve and some ups and downs like any player that goes into the league. He鈥檚 a guy that learns, stays positive, does not get discouraged and he鈥檒l learn from every opportunity.鈥
And he relishes every opportunity.
One of Collins鈥 mottos for Hairston is, 鈥淗e wants the smoke,鈥 which is short for having a willingness to engage in a fight or challenge.
鈥淗e works extremely hard at his craft and even when he has plays that don鈥檛 go his way, he鈥檚 going to bounce back and wants the smoke,鈥 Collins said.
Ready for NFL stage
Moments after being drafted, Hairston said he was joining a team that was 鈥渏ust one piece away,鈥 after losing in the AFC championship game and, 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 that missing piece.鈥
Bills first-round draft pick Maxwell Hairston holds up his new jersey in Orchard Park on Friday.
Heady stuff, right? But also accurate. The Bills are counting on Hairston to provide sturdier, more productive play at the cornerback spot after the franchise rolled through Tre鈥橠avious White (first half of 2021 and first four weeks of 2023), Dane Jackson (nearly all of 2022), Rasul Douglas (last half of 2023 and all of 2024) and Kaiir Elam (multiple stops and starts).
Hairston鈥檚 analysis was relayed to members of his camp.
They laughed because they know him.
They agreed because they鈥檝e seen him work.
And they predicted instant success because his make-up will give him a shot.
Bellamy: 鈥淚鈥檝e seen that since he was 12 years old.鈥
Denha: 鈥淭hat absolutely sounds like Max. That was a loaded class in our district and he never thought he wasn鈥檛 the best athlete.鈥
Davis: 鈥淚 love that. As someone who has worked so hard to be where he鈥檚 at, you need to have that confidence to go out here and show it. The NFL is the stage to do it and back up those words and I believe he鈥檒l do that.鈥
Collins: 鈥淲e say all the time, 鈥楥onfidence is a reflection of your work.鈥 That鈥檚 something we lived by in our (meeting) room.鈥
Hairston鈥檚 energy was infectious through the television screen on Thursday and at the press conference podium and 1-on-1 interview Friday night. On the field, as Collins said, Hairston 鈥渨ants the smoke.鈥 Against the NFL鈥檚 best, he will face the fight and doesn鈥檛 want it any other way.
鈥淵ou can put me anywhere on the field,鈥 he said. 鈥淶one or man, press or off (coverage), I feel like they鈥檒l trust me to go out and make a play if the opportunity presents itself.鈥
