West Bloomfield, Mich., cornerback Maxwell Hairston welcomed a late surge of offers this summer, and was still able to make his decision before the start of senior year. The three-star prospect announced Monday he would be taking his talents to the University of Kentucky.

“I picked Kentucky because of the coaching staff and the relationship we built,” Hairston said. “Also, it is in the SEC and not too far from home. The program is really good, and I feel I can go in and make it better.”

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Kentucky made its offer to Hairston one month and one day before he committed. They were one of six schools to extend an offer in the month of July. All six made his top seven list, which was announced on Aug. 6, but he was not able to visit any of those schools before committing.

“Coach (Steve) Clinkscale is my cornerbacks coach and he also recruits my area, so I have actually been in contact with him since I was a freshman,” Hairston said. “Ever since then we kept in contact and he has always kept an eye on me. He finally pulled the trigger (on an offer), and that changed the game for me.”

Kentucky has successfully recruited several prospects out of southeast Michigan in recent classes, and that also helped bridge the gap for Hairston without the ability to visit the program.

“I got to play against Justin Rogers and also got to talk with him a little too,” Hairston said. “We chopped it up a little bit and told me a bit about them. He loves them and he was another guy with a ton of offers. For him to pick Kentucky was kind of big.”

As a junior, Hairston played in a talented West Bloomfield defense that featured several other FBS caliber prospects. Kentucky also wants him playing that role when he arrives in Lexington.

“They like my length and athleticism at corner,” Hairston said. “They feel I am a guy that can come in and be on an island, and a cover guy they can trust to guard the best receivers day in and day out.”

The state of Michigan on Friday announced the cancelation of its fall football season. That move helped crystalize Hairston’s future plans.

“Before the season was canceled I was still deciding if I wanted to enroll early or not,” Hairston said. “Now that it is moved to the spring, I definitely do not want to enroll early. I am going to take this time to get better, put on some weight, get stronger and come back in the spring a different person.”

The commitment of Hairston is Kentucky’s 15thin the 2021 class, and boosts their standing into the top 50 of the Rivals team recruiting rankings.