Tennessee has typically had a decent amount of success in the state of Georgia when it comes to recruiting. So far in the Vols’ 2019 class, five of UT’s eight commits are from the Peach State, and they’re in on a number of other talented players from the state of Georgia as well. And they got some good news from a hard-hitting safety out of the state on Saturday.
Jalyn Phillips, a three-star safety from Lawrenceville, Georgia, released his top five on Saturday afternoon, and the Vols were listed among those schools.
TOP 5 !! COMMITMENT DATE AUGUST 20th , 2018
University of Alabama ? #ROLL1N9
Clemson university ? #We2deep19
University of Oklahoma
#Boomer
University of Tennessee
#Vols
University of southern-California ✌?#Fighton Pic: @bunterwagner pic.twitter.com/uSCMFkFGON— JP⁵ (@jalyn_phillips) June 2, 2018
The talented safety holds an abundance of scholarship offers numbering over 50 schools. Aside from the schools in his top five, he also holds offers from Michigan, Florida State, Texas, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and a host of other schools. According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Phillips is rated as the No. 400 overall player and No. 31 safety in the 2019 class.
Phillips spoke with Anna Hickey of 247Sports about his five finalists, and he had nothing but glowing remarks about new Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt when asked about the Vols.
“I feel that coach (Jeremy) Pruitt is going to change things tremendously,” Phillips said. “He knows how to win and brought an amazing coaches staff along with him.”
The 6-foot-1, 190 pound safety recently took an official visit to Oklahoma in April. He attended a Junior Day event on Tennessee’s campus back in late February, and he’s planning on scheduling another visit to Tennessee soon.
Phillips is a hard-hitting safety with an explosive style of play. He tracks the ball well and has great vision in the defensive backfield. When he tackles a ball carrier, they know it; Phillips lowers his shoulder and obliterates running backs on several occasions on his highlight film. He’s solid in zone coverage, but his strength is definitely in defending the run.
According to Phillips himself, he plans on making his college decision on his birthday on August 20th during a ceremony at his school.
Tennessee needs a safety or two in their 2019 class. Micah Abernathy and Todd Kelly Jr. are both graduating after the 2018 season, and there’s a very good chance that Nigel Warrior will declare for the NFL Draft after this season as well. The Vols would do well to add at least one if not two safeties in their 2019 class, and Phillips figures to be one of their top targets at the position.
