Vols pick up commitment from Florida lineman Jordan Phillips
Josh Heupel and Tennessee dipped back into a familiar territory for a commitment on Wednesday with the addition of Orlando, Florida defensive lineman Jordan Phillips. The sunshine state prospect was in Knoxville last weekend for his official and that trip helped close his recruitment.
“I felt like it was the best situation for me," Phillips told Volquest. "Coach Heupel is a great head coach and even though they just got to Tennessee, I feel like they’re going to have something special going on. And that’s something I want to be a part of.”
His area recruiter is Brian Jean Mary, but the guy Phillips has jived most with is Vol defensive line coach Rodney Garner. The veteran SEC stalwart has a long track record of building life long bonds and putting guys in the league. That's something Phillips took notice of during his time with Garner.
“Coach Garner is a great guy that has helped develop a lot of players and mentor them," Phillips said. "I feel like he’s the right coach for me because he can push me and he can help me get to where I want to be.”
“It’s been great. Coach Garner is a great guy and I also already knew Coach BJ (Jean-Mary), plus Coach (Tim) Banks. I developed great relationships with those guys, too. They’re all good people and we all talk almost on a daily basis.”
Tennessee was able to land Phillips after he took a long hard look at Florida and Michigan. The environment Phillips witnessed on his official visit to see the Vols this past weekend helped push his recruitment to the finish line.
“I was just looking for a good environment," Phillips said. "One where everyone has the same grind mentality and the same hard-working mentality as me. A team where everybody is just one big brotherhood and a team where I know I can come in and develop as a leader, a young man and as a football player.
“I just needed and wanted to see a college that checked all of the boxes for everything that I need to make a decision. Tennessee did that and that’s why I chose Tennessee.”
Phillips stands 6-foot-4 and weighs just under 300 pounds. He's a good looking prospect with the intangibles that give him a real chance at the next level.
"He's hard-nosed," Ocoee head coach Aaron Shepherd said. "He works hard, he's a leader and gets after it in the weight room. He brings so much out as a player. He's an old school type of player. He wants to be good. He comes in the office every day. He put in the time to be great."
In the last month, Phillips has been on visits, performed at camps and really exposed himself to the recruiting trail. In that time, he's picked up offers from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and others. The Tennessee staff, which has strong and established relationships at Ocoee and in central Florida left quite the impression.
"He's been excited that it's happening for him," Shepherd said. "They have all come at him hard. I knew some of the guys on the Tennessee staff because they were here. I've known BJ forever and he was recruiting him back in 2008. I've met Golesh and Heupel. They are all class acts."
Now that Phillips has put the recruiting process behind him, he'll now turn his attention to focusing on himself as he eyes enrolling at Tennessee in January.
"I’m going to be focusing on myself and preparing to get better in order to get college," Phillips said. "Because even though I’m committed, I need to be prepared to go on campus and make something happen. That’s what I need to focus on. I’ll be working hard in order to get myself better as a football player and as a person.”