*defensive end*Kyle Phillips*got acquainted with Tennessee games last season when he visited the Vols twice for games.
But, he said neither atmosphere was quite like Sunday night when the Vols played in front of a sell-out crowd as they defeated Utah State 38-7 to open the season.
"It was good, especially with the weather and stuff. For it to be 102,455 and sold-out and with it raining and the weather, that's pretty good," Phillips said.*
But, before the game started Phillips met with the Tennessee coaching staff.
"I talked to pretty much the whole staff," Phillips said. "That just shows how important recruiting is. Recruiting is probably the most important thing, or one of them, really. It's crazy that they care that much about getting recruits and they are talking to the recruits before the game."
Phillips said the Vols' coaching staff wanted him to know that they see him as a key piece to their 2015 recruiting puzzle and they want him to stay in state and play on Rocky Top.
"We're just continuing to build that relationship, really," Phillips said. "I guess their message is, 'We want you here.' They were saying that playing for your home state is a big deal and that Nashville is where their best freshmen are from, and just Tennessee in general. They had a lot of freshmen play, too."
Phillips said it was obvious the freshmen were getting plenty of opportunities and noticed the different the players from Nashville like*Jalen Hurd, Jashon Robertson*and*Derek Barnett*were making early in their careers.
"Like, I played against Jalen. It's crazy that I knew all of these guys playing high school football in my area a year ago and now it's crazy that they're playing big-time, SEC football," Phillips said. "I pay attention to that. Most SEC schools recruit their own state the hardest and I guess it's different when you're playing for somebody else, like someone out of state. I guess playing where you grew up and with people been around is just different."
Phillips said he doesn't know of any further visits this fall but is beginning to look ahead to official visits.
His top five remains Tennessee, Tennessee State, Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss and said he has an idea of where he wants to go for official visits but doesn't know how timing will work out.
"I have an idea of where I want to take them to, but just during the season it's crazy with my games and stuff like that," Phillips said. "Maybe I can take an official visit after the season or during our bye week."
Phillips continues to say he's in no hurries to make a decision and wants to take official visits before doing anything.