Rivals250 DE talks health, Alabama

Class of 2015 Rivals250 and Nashville (Tenn.) Hillsboro defensive end Kyle Phillips was back on the field this weekend, after missing more than six months with a shoulder injury. He looked like his old self and it's easy to see why his recruitment hasn't slowed down while he has missed time.

"I'm feeling like I'm almost 100 percent," Phillips said. "I'm pretty much there. My shoulder is getting pretty good. I'm just ready to get back out there and work. It was frustrating missing some big camps and stuff but I just wanted to make sure I was completely ready."

While he was taking a break from the field, coaches haven't taken a break in recruiting him.

"Nothing has slowed down for me," said Phillips, who has seen coaches from Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, Kentucky Ohio State and Penn State stop by over the past few weeks. "It's been pretty crazy. Schools are coming every day to see me this spring and I'm expecting that to keep happening."

Recently Phillips made the trip south to Tuscaloosa to get a closer look at the Tide. He brought along his mother Teresa Phillips, a former basketball standout at Vanderbilt.

"Alabama was a pretty good trip," Phillips said. "That was my mom's first trip down there so she was excited. Her opinion is going to be big because she wants to be able to come to games and she wants me to happy so she's a big factor in my decision."

Phillips mother worked as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt and was the head coach at Tennessee State for several years, so she's more than familiar with the recruiting process. He said she listens very closely to what college coaches have to say.

"She lets the coaches talk," Phillips said. "She's the athletic director at Tennessee State so she knows all about recruiting and the whole process."

Phillips visit coincided with the spring game as well as four big name players committing to The Tide. He said that while he enjoyed the trip, it hasn't drastically changed his timeline.

"It was crazy and a really good experience and I liked the visit a lot," Phillips said. "But they're not putting pressure on me. Their class is filling up but they're always going to have good players and I don't feel any pressure to commit anywhere."

As far as when a decision might come, Phillips said he has no immediate plans.

"I really don't have a certain timeline," he said. "Just when the moment is right I'll make the call."