If Boston College hadn’t hired Jeff Hafley away from Ohio State in December 2019, Clark Phillips III would likely be playing for the Buckeyes right now.
With less than a week to go until the early signing period for the recruiting class of 2020, Phillips was all set to sign with Ohio State. The four-star cornerback had been committed to the Buckeyes since June and was planning to enroll early in January 2020.
The primary reason why Phillips had committed to Ohio State, however, was because of his relationship with Hafley, who was the Buckeyes’ co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the time. So five days after Hafley left the Buckeyes to become BC’s head coach, Phillips decided to instead sign with Utah, having also built a close relationship with the Utes’ coaching staff throughout the recruiting process.
“There was coaching adjustments with Ohio State,” Phillips said. “There was coaching certainty with Utah, and I really wanted to be a part of a program with a great defense. Which Ohio State had, which was why I was intrigued, and also Utah had, and I feel like I made a great decision.”
As the No. 51 overall prospect in the country, Phillips became the highest-rated prospect to ever sign with Utah, making it easy to question why he would choose to sign with the Utes over the Buckeyes. But Phillips believed Utah was the best fit for him and a program that would set him up to thrive.
“It was really, really tough, going from being committed to one of the biggest programs in the country to trying to go somewhere different. It was like, ‘OK, what are you doing, why are you making that decision?’” Phillips recalled Wednesday. “When I was talking to the staff, when I saw the players in the locker room, when I got to talk to them, talked to guys like (former Utah safety) Terrell Burgess on the Rams now, and I saw the culture. The culture was super strong. They have a great defense, and the way that they are, I was like, ‘OK, I could be a part of this.’ And I wanted to be a part of a great defensively focused team.”
Two years later, there’s reason for Phillips to be happy about the decision he made. Utah, which ranked second behind only Ohio State in total defense in 2019, has had a strong defense once again in 2021, ranking 12th in yards allowed per game (318) and 23rd in points allowed per game (20.6). And Phillips is already the star of Utah’s secondary, having started all 18 games the Utes have played in his two seasons with the team and earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors this year.
Phillips’ coaches and teammates credit his work ethic with enabling him to make such a big impact in his first two seasons in Salt Lake City.
“That young man is unbelievable,” Utah defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley said. “Some freshmen come in and they just kind of sit there and try and follow the crowd. He came in with a purpose. He wanted to start. He wanted to play right away. He's always in the film room.”
Even Phillips acknowledges, though, that he didn’t anticipate being where he is now, which is back where he grew up in Southern California to play in the Rose Bowl against the team he was once committed to after Utah won the Pac-12 championship this year.
“This was one of those things I would have never expected, but also excited for and you work for every single day, and I'm just so grateful because who would have thought it would have been in my freshman year,” said Phillips, who Utah still lists as a freshman even though he played in five games in 2020. “I know it's my second freshman year, but who would have thought it would have been freshman year.
“You just never know God's plan. Just thinking two-and-a-half years ago I was fully committed to Ohio State and I was excited about becoming a Buckeye as a senior in high school. Now we're playing against them in one of the biggest games I've ever played in.”
Phillips still holds Ohio State in high regard. He described flipping away from the Buckeyes as the hardest decision he’s ever made in his life, and he said it wasn’t easy to tell Ryan Day he wouldn’t be signing with Ohio State.
“Love Ryan Day. Love what he stands for,” Phillips said. “We talked very often, and he was a big part of my recruitment, so of course out of respect that was a conversation I had to have first, and he understood, as great coaches do, and he knew that I had to do what's best for me, and that was coming here.”
Nonetheless, Phillips will be trying to help lead Utah to a win over Ohio State on Saturday, which he says would mean “a whole lot” to both him and the university.
“I'm excited about it,” Phillips said. “I know it's going to be a great game. Got a lot of respect for those guys on the other side, and I think this is our year.”
Phillips’ job for this week was made a bit easier on Monday, when Ohio State wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson announced they were opting out of the Rose Bowl, but Phillips still expects to be in for a challenge against the Buckeyes. Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud and leading receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will still be playing for Ohio State, and he knows the receivers who will replace Wilson and Olave in the lineup – most likely a combination of Julian Fleming, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka – are talented, too.
“I know that whoever they put out there, those dudes are all good, and they were all the best of their class, the best wherever they were, and Ohio State does a really, really good job of developing receivers,” Phillips said. “I know that whoever they put out there, I'm going to have to show up and bring my ’A’ game.”
Of course, the Buckeyes are also well aware of Phillips’ talent, and they know he’s capable of making life difficult for any wide receiver he faces – the reason why Ohio State would have loved to add him to its own secondary.
“That’s their best DB,” Smith-Njigba said. “So it’ll be fun. He’s a great player, and it’s going to be fun to go up against him.”
