<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">After not even being in his top 12 not too long ago, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UCLA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UCLA</a> has made into four-star Clark Phillips’ top five: <a href="https://t.co/fLD5aoFqj9">https://t.co/fLD5aoFqj9</a></p>— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BruinReport/status/1123658558875168768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Four-Star DB Clark Phillips Cuts His List to Five
By GREG BIGGINS
La Habra (Calif.) defensive back Clark Phillips cut his list of schools down to five earlier today.
Phillips cut his list of schools down to 12 and made another cut earlier tonight. He now has five schools on his short list and is hoping to make a summer decision.
“My final five are Notre Dame, Cal, Oregon, Ohio State and UCLA,” Phillips said. “I had some great option but these are the five I felt most comfortable with. I’m close with all five coaching staff and all five fit my style of play and where I think I can get developed the best.”
Phillips has already visited all five programs and gave a quick thought on what stands out about each program.
Notre Dame- “I visited not too long ago and loved it. I love the overall campus feel and the environment there. It’s a prestigious school not just football wise but academically and I really like the coaching staff and have a great relationship with coach (Todd) Lyght (DB coach).”
Cal- “I was just at Cal this past weekend and I really like the coaches and the players on the team. I fit in really well with those guys and the more I talk with them, the more comfortable I feel. Coach Wilcox and GA (Gerald Alexander) are great guys and great coaches our relationship just keeps getting better and better. I like the defensive a lot as well and they love my style of play and how well I fit in.”
Oregon- “I’m very close with Donte Williams and we have been talking for a long time now. I have a lot of respect for Donte as a coach and feel he can develop me and help me get to the next level. He said he loves the way I play and they see an opportunity for me to step in and play right away. I’ve been up to Oregon multiple times and I really fit in well there and have a great comfort level with what they’re trying to do and what they’re building.”
Ohio State- “That’s a special program and I love how they develop defensive backs and get them to the next level. The moment Coach Hafley got to Ohio State, he hit me up immediately and let me know what a big priority I was for them. Coach Day did that as well, he made a point to reach out when he got the job and tell me how well I fit in and spelled out how well I fit with their defense. He said I could make some noise there in year one and they want to build something special with me being a big focal point. They see me moving all around, playing corner and nickel and having a Tyrann Mathieu type impact on the defense.”
UCLA- “UCLA is doing some very nice things on the low key and I really like what I’ve seen on my visits there. They’re the one school who wasn’t in my initial top 12 but they have really picked things up and I talk regularly with Coach Rhoads and coach Kelly. My parents are very comfortable with the school and the coaches and I’ve talked to some of the players, Darnay Holmes and William Nimmo, and they really love it there and have told me some great things about where the program is going. UCLA is home for me, my mom went to school there and I think there’s a great opportunity to get in and play right away as well.”
Phillips said he plans to officially visit all five schools but doesn’t have any dates just yet.
“My plan is to take three visits this spring and summer and then hopefully make a late summer decision if I feel good about a school. If not, I’ll wait and take the last two, that’s all up in the air right now. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Cal are the three schools I know I want to visit this spring and then we’ll go from there.
“I’m an early graduate so I know I have some time but also know I don’t have a ton of time. I would love to make my decision and get it out of the way before my senior year so I can focus on school and football but like I said, I’m still going to play that by ear and just see how I feel.”