Oregon has always been a wildcard in the recruitment of Rivals100 linebacker Jacob Phillips, but after his official visit to Eugene over the weekend, it seems as if the Ducks have made a major move up his list.

“I had a great time and it definitely opened my eyes completely to the thought of going across the country to Oregon,” said Phillips, a Nashville, Tenn. resident. “Oregon is amazing. The facilities are out of this world and they had a lot of things I have never seen before.”

Phillips was hosted on the trip by 2015 Oregon signee and fellow Nashville native Ugo Amadi. Prior to the trip, Amadi and Phillips were more casual acquaintances than friends, but the two know many of the same people in the rather tight-knit Nashville football community. Phillips said the two had several conversations over the weekend about what it’s like going to school across the country.

“I think one of the major x-factors was having Ugo Amadi (2015 Rivals250 defensive back from Nashville as well) as my tour guide and making that decision to do the same thing,” Phillips said. “Ugo sacrificed a lot to go to the other side of the country. But he did it because he wanted to be in a place where you want to be great and be the best and sometimes to succeed in your goals and plans you have to sacrifice some comforts like being close to home.”

Phillips and his family got to spend some extended time with the Oregon coaches, including new defensive coordinator Brady Hoke and linebackers coach Don Pellum, who has handled Phillips recruitment dating back more than a year.

“The coaches are great,” Phillips said. “They take their job seriously but they’re not too stuck up. They’re grounded to where they’re able to joke around and stuff even while their main goal is winning. Being in the locker room after the game and seeing the coaches and players all laughing and supporting each other, I liked that a lot.”

Oregon played several freshman in the game, including outside linebacker Troy Dye, who made several big plays for the Ducks. Phillips said both Pellum and Hoke told him he could be in a similar role next fall if he were to go to Oregon.

“That’s what they’ve been trying to tell me, that I can come in and make an immediate impact,” Phillips said. “Obviously they support the players they have but Coach Pellum was saying I would be coming in ahead of the curve and I could really be special there. Coach Hoke likes my frame and my abilities and thinks I can be a three-down ‘backer in their system. The had a freshman starting in the came and I know that if I went there and worked hard I would have the same opportunities.”

Like most recruits who have visited Oregon, Phillips raved about the Ducks facilities. The compliments come as high praise as Phillips spent the summer visiting schools like LSU and Alabama.

“There’s just endless amounts of things that you don’t see anywhere else” Phillips said. “There’s a boxing ring, a huge room of sleeping pods, it’s just so high-tech and there were so many things I’ve never seen before and I’ve taken a lot of visits.”

Phillips was in town until early Monday morning and had a chance to see plenty, including the Oregon outdoors when he went fishing with some Oregon coaches on Sunday morning. Now that he’s back home in Nashville, Phillips will continue to weigh his options as he heads into an official visit at Oklahoma this weekend.

“This visit moves them up a lot in my mind,” Phillips said. “With this being my first official visit I can’t say how much but me and my family thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m glad my family got to come because after meeting the coaches and talking to them for a few days they have built a level of comfort.”

Phillips still has planned visits to Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Alabama and LSU and plans on announcing a decision sometime in mid-October.