Phillips likes Cincinnati

Three-star tight end Rashad Phillips took his fourth official visit of the season to Cincinnati this past weekend. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder out of Virginia Beach (Va.) Landstown was impressed by his visit.

"It was a good visit, I liked it a lot," he said. "I like that they are building a new facility which looks really nice, the players were cool and I liked all the coaches, especially head coach Dantonio. He's just a really good person and is a nice, cool guy."

Phillips got to Cincinnati on Friday.

"Basically when I was up there I met with the academic advisors, took a campus tour, checked out the facilities and went out with the players including my host Thomas Claggett," he said. "Thomas was cool because he told me about how they are building a good program and their team should be good in the years to come.

"The other thing I got to do on my trip was talk with head coach Dantonio a few times including on Friday and Sunday. He talked to him about everything including playing, choosing a school and a lot more. He was really great to talk to."

Overall the No. 50 tight end in the country rated his trip highly.

"I'd give it a 9 or 9.5 because I had a great time," he said. "This visit compared really well to Syracuse and Maryland. I thought that Cincinnati actually had better dormitories than the other two schools. It's going to be a tough decision because all those schools are up there, but at the moment I'd still say Syracuse is in the lead."

Next week Phillips heads to Raleigh and North Carolina State.

"I can't wait for that visit," he said. "I grew up liking that school for basketball and then football and I've never been on campus. I want to see what it's like, meet the coaches and players."

Phillips hopes to have a decision sometime during the week after his trip to see the Wolfpack.