“The visit went great overall,” said Phillips. “I was very impressed with everything. The coaching staff was really impressive. They’re all great. You can tell they really care about the players and they know what they’re talking about. "I didn’t know what to expect with the facilities and everything, but everything is top-notch. They’ve got what they need. Now they're rebuilding and they’re going to be good in a couple years.”
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Phillips also returned to Virginia Tech on Saturday for the Hokies’ scrimmage after spending Friday at Tennessee. The Louisville, Ky., native said Kentucky, Virginia Tech and Tennessee currently “are the main ones that I think are really recruiting me hardest.” While Phillips was at Tennessee last week, he met with second-year coach
Jeremy Pruitt and other members of the Vols’ staff, including quarterbacks coach
Chris Weinke and new defensive coordinator
Derrick Ansley.
Ansley, who is also Tennessee’s defensive backs coach, talked with Phillips “for a while,” he said, and showed “he really knows what he’s talking about. He’s been around. He has a lot of knowledge,” Phillips said of Ansley. "I know he knows what he’s talking about and he’s a good coach. I got to meet Coach Pruitt. I met Coach Weinke in person. I’ve been talking to him over the phone. “(Ansley) likes how I can hit. He really thinks I can hit, and I’m just physical and everything, and he said he can see me (playing) corner or the Star position in their defense. He said he can see me playing there, and I could be one of those players.”
Pruitt also made a good first impression on Phillips. “With the short talk we had, I could tell he’s a great person, really cares about his players and he knows what he’s talking about,” Phillips said of Pruitt. “He’s going to be a great head coach.” Phillips said he noticed that Pruitt, a former secondary coach, “was with DBs, like, the whole time” during Tennessee’s practice Friday and even during the Vols’ position meetings leading up to the practice. “I could tell he's a DB guy,” Phillips said. "It is appealing because you have more than one coach that has a lot of knowledge at the position.”
“The SEC, that’s a big part because that’s the best conference,” he said. “I just want to be able to play against the best competition I can play. (But) it’s not just that. It’s just Tennessee in general — who they are, the coaches, the people up there.” That’s why he said he expects to visit the Vols again, “probably” this summer. “I for sure need to get back up and just build more relationships, get more comfortable up there,” Phillips said. “I’m really interested in them. I’ve just got to get back up there and just build better relationships. I’m not exactly sure, like, a day or time yet, but I know for sure I’m going to get back up.”
