Five-star linebacker Jacob Phillips flips from Oklahoma to LSU
Class of 2017 five-star linebacker Jacob Phillips had been committed to Oklahoma for months, but Thursday, less than a week before National Signing Day, he had a change of heart. Instead of leaving Nashville to play for the Sooners, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker will be staying in SEC country and will head south to play for LSU.
“It was a tough decision for me but it was something I felt like was the right choice for me and my future,” Phillips said. “After visiting LSU and talking with my family we felt like it was the right place for me.”
Philips had been solid to the Sooners, but a persistent LSU coaching staff, led by head coach Ed Orgeron and assistant coach Austin Thomas persuaded him to take an extended unofficial visit last weekend. That’s when everything changed.
“I went on the visit at first not really expecting much but after going on the visit, my family and I really liked down there,” Phillips said. “It wasn’t about facilities or anything like that, but just seeing my future and putting me in the best position to achieve my goals. I prayed on it and thought on it for a while and talked about it with my family and we made the decision together.”
Thomas and Phillips formed a unique bond during the process with Phillips crediting the Tigers director of player personnel for helping change his mind.
“He’s been recruiting me for three years, even when he wasn’t at LSU we kept in touch,” Phillips said. “He really showed me that he cares about me as a person, not just a football player and it’s great to have that type of relationship.”
The opportunity to play in SEC is also something that Phillips said played a role in his decision, especially considering he grew up following the conference closely.
“The SEC West is the hardest division in college football and to play against the best is going to make you elevate your game,” he said. “Plus I feel like coach (Dave) Aranda is a mastermind in college football. After getting in the film room with him and seeing everything he did with Kendall Beckwith it really opened my eyes. He thinks I can come in a do the same thing.”
Given the loss of talent at the linebacker position for the Tigers, Phillips also sees an early path to the field in Baton Rouge.
“Early playing time was also a factor and to get that in the SEC is not an opportunity that comes around very often,” he said. “I want to be in the NFL some day and I want to put myself in the best position to do so.”
Phillips said he knows seeing the field won’t be handed to him but he’s ready to and willing to compete.
“After going to the Army All-American Game and going against some of the best guys in the country and having success I feel like it made me embrace competition,” he said. “You’re around the top players all week and doing well made me want to be around top guys and go against them every day in practice and in games during the SEC schedule.”
Off the field, Phillips said LSU was prepared as well and he and his parents came away impressed with academic plan the Tigers laid out for him.
“I want to study sports management and my parents liked the program that LSU laid out,” Phillips said. “They have a whole plan set up for me and they charted out my full academic plan to show how I could graduate in three years and have the degree I want for life after football.”
As far as the Sooners, Phillips said the breakup was bittersweet.
“Oklahoma recruited me the best they could and they were genuine with me the whole process,” Phillips said. “It’s nothing against the coaches or the fans there but this was the decision that I felt was best for me. I will always value the relationships I made there”
Phillips joins a star-studded class at LSU and becomes the second five-star from the state of Tennessee to commit to the Tigers, joining safety Jacoby Stevens. Phillips said he will no longer entertain any other programs and his in-home visit from the Tigers on Saturday night will be the only one he receives this week and his last in the process.
