Behind the Scenes: Jalyn Phillips picks Clemson
Not often does the 30th school that offers win out for a top high school football prospect.
Clemson is the last school to offer Lawrenceville (Ga.) Archer safety Jalyn Phillips. He is not sure if he has exactly 30 offers or not. Maybe it is 29 or 32, but either way; in today's world of recruiting, the offer would be considered too "late" by many prospects of Phillips' profile.
He is different though.
The 6-foot-1, 185 pounder has now committed to the Tigers despite the offer coming just over two months ago. The timing was not an issue for him, but before Dabo Swinney decided to extend the offer, Phillips was almost committed to another school.
"Clemson offering me last meant nothing to me," said Phillips. "Clemson always kept it real with me. They were always in contact with me and I knew they were still looking at me before they offered.
"My sophomore year, I played nickel back, so they liked me, but they really wanted to see me at safety before they decided to offer or not. I moved to free safety my junior year, so they evaluated my film, they saw me in the spring and they just kept recruiting me. I just stayed patient with them. They were always honest about everything.
"I always loved Clemson. It always felt home there to me. It did not matter that they were the last school to offer me. Maybe that would mean something to some people, but with the way Clemson recruited me, it didn't matter with me.
"I visited Clemson around 10 times before they even offered me. I knew they liked me and I liked them a lot too. Even though I did not have the offer yet, they still showed a lot of interest in me when I would visit and treat me like a top guy. Their coaches is really what did it for me.
"Clemson was always a school I wanted an offer from since it started for me. Coach Mickey Conn is a big factor there. He is from my area, he coached at Grayson and he just knows me and what it is like down here. He knows my parents too. Since knowing him, just experiencing what Clemson is about and having that feeling any time I was on campus made them a favorite from the beginning.
"The coaches are different. Coaches love it there. They want to be there. You don't see a lot of change and that shows. I love how they are honest and mean what they say. To get that offer, it feels like such a great accomplishment.
"As soon as I got the offer, it got really tough for me. Before the Clemson offer, I was pretty much going to Oklahoma. I had taken my official visit out there and I really liked it there too. Even after the Clemson offer, I still had it pretty close, but after talking with my parents about it and thinking things over for a while, I made my decision.
"I trust the Clemson coaches, my parents trust them and we just feel really good about Clemson. I went over the pros and cons and Clemson is the best school for me.
"At the cookout in July, I let my parents know that I was done with recruiting. I had thought I might have been done before then, but on that visit, I knew I was done. The connection was strong and I told the Clemson coaches at the cookout. It was a blessing. We were all excited about it and it feels great to be able to share that now.
"I am done with recruiting. When I am committed, I am committed. Clemson does not have to worry about me visiting other schools or anything really. If you commit to a school and visit other schools, then you are not really committed. I am going to stay true to my word and I am only going to visit Clemson from here on out. My recruitment is done."
