2024 4* LB Joseph "Joe" Phillips Commits To AU!

[IronMan70 3,277]

3 hours ago, Rednilla said:

You mean CHF and AU, right? 

HAHA yep, fixed. 

[WFE12 9,191]

[Zeek 16,657]

12 hours ago, ellitor said:

FWIW JHead says JP wants to be an ILB.

This is one of those “let them try and then put them at Jack anyways” deals to me. He would need to thin down a little for ILB. We’ll see.

[W.E.D 11,070]

If you have equal options between ILB and Edge, I'm shocked many kids wouldn't take EDGE.  It's the money position 

[HAPvsOA 287]

On 6/15/2023 at 10:40 AM, ellitor said:

Lastly, to the rest of the powers in college football...

I can't believe this one. Well done CH🥶🧊❄️!!! I was told by my only semi-connected source that this one was over and he was going to UGA. And while I love this GIF, I think it's more like we beat them in a walk off. 

 

[Zeek 16,657]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:50 AM, W.E.D said:

If you have equal options between ILB and Edge, I'm shocked many kids wouldn't take EDGE.  It's the money position 

Depends. My dad, my dad’s dad, and so on all played Mike Linebacker so it was a weird point of pride. I played more Safety because I wasn’t big enough to take on blockers and I liked the vision of the field and play better.

He might like the leadership and ability to read better at the second level. I’m sure there’s some reasoning. 

[ellitor 33,106]

FWIW I added Jack LB back to the thread title because that's where AU plans to begin his career at AU.

[toddc 13,194]

Phillips commitment to Auburn 'huge' for community

Auburn commitment Joseph Phillips is someone that brings a lot to the table, says coach Lawrence O'Neal.

Jason CaldwellJun 19th, 7:01 AM

Joseph Phillips is determined to make a difference and he’s making history at the same time. According to coach Lawrence O’Neal, the last Division 1 player from Booker T. Washington was Manoso Foston, who lettered as a fullback at Auburn in the 1997 season. Before that, Willie Whitehead was the last player to make an impact and he did it as a walk-on with the Tigers in the early 1990’s before a long career in the NFL.

Now Phillips is hoping to make his own impact at Auburn, something O’Neal believes is going to happen. It’s also an opportunity to make an impact in his own community because of all of the eyes and attention that are on the 4-star prospect from a school that doesn’t usually produce college football players.

“It’s huge,” O’Neal said. “It’s huge for the community because he’ll be less than 20 minutes away from the guys that played with him and the kids in the community. For them to see somebody from their own hometown that they can still reach out and touch and have a conversation with, to see him do it gives them hope that one day they can do the same thing.”

Phillips has been on the fast track to success since swapping his focus from basketball to football last year. While he helped his team to the regional round in last year’s basketball tournament, his future is all football and O’Neal said he’s seen his star pupil really take off once he began to concentrate on his new sport.

“It has been exponential growth,” O’Neal said of Phillips. “He was behind from never having played football and we put him at safety because we didn’t know how he would adjust to the contact of football being that he was a basketball player. We kind of eased him up into the box. Once we got him in that box and he got a chance to go get the quarterback and be physical and hit people, he took off from there.”

The biggest question left for Phillips is where does he wind up playing on the next level and beyond. Unlike most basketball players that make the switch, Phillips already has the body to be ready for the college game. With the ability to play a classic linebacker spot as well as rush the passer off the edge, the future Tiger is someone that should give Hugh Freeze’s defense plenty of flexibility for years to come.

“I really don’t know because he’s about 6-2, 235-240 right now and he can cover as well,” O’Neal said when asked where he saw Phillips playing in college. “He could play outside linebacker, but he can rush off the edge. When he bends that corner and comes off the edge, it’s just natural to him. That versatility is huge because it gives a coach the option of not having to take you out of the game because of the ability to play all three downs.”

[toddc 13,194]

 

[DAG 33,997]

3 hours ago, toddc said:

 

Looks like a grown ass man.

[LPTiger 5,167]

On 7/24/2023 at 4:43 PM, DAG said:

Looks like a grown ass man.

"Auburn is the move."

[aubiefifty 16,812]

yahoo.com

Joseph Phillips shuts down his recruitment

Daniel Locke

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze has been determined to boost Auburn’s recruiting since taking over the program.

Joseph Phillips is the latest Auburn commitment to shut down his recruitment. In an Auburn Undercover article written by Christian Clemente, Phillips explained what went into his decision.

“It’s going good,” Phillips said on Auburn’s recruiting. “I feel like with me committing and then you’ve got other big-time people committed, everybody now is like ‘Auburn is the move.’ It’s not like they ain’t have no 4- or 5-stars committed. Now they’ve got the dogs committed, everybody else is trying to come.”

Big Cat Weekend, one of Auburn’s biggest recruiting events is coming up and Phillips is thinking it will go well.

“I feel like Big Cat Weekend they going to really put their best foot forward,” Phillips said. “Like you said, there’s going to be a lot of big-time people in so I feel like it’s going to be one of the best experiences I had just going up there. You’ve got a chance to chill, talk with the players and coaches and get other people that ain’t committed a chance to see what that’s like behind the scenes.”

Phillips is a four-star recruit with a 0.9421 composite rating according to 247Sports. He is the No. 132 player nationally, the No. 9 edge rusher, and the No. 8 player in the state of Alabama. He joins fellow commits such as Walker White, A'mon Lane, and J'Marion Burnette in shutting down his recruitment.

More Recruiting!

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

[Paladin 3,305]

 

[Paladin 3,305]

AU linebacker commit talks OV

Caleb Jones • AuburnSports

Joseph Phillips almost committed to Georgia.

 His recruitment was headed in the direction of a Georgia commitment, before Auburn jumped in late and landed the Rivals250 linebacker. Over the weekend, Phillips took his official visit to Auburn, which only solidified in his mind that he made the right choice.

"It set it in stone," Phillips said. "They showed they can coach and that’s what you go to college for, right? Coaching and getting on the field, that’s the only thing that you want."

Joseph Phillips took his official visit this past weekend. (Caleb Jones | AuburnSports.com)

When Auburn took the field against the No. 1 team in the country Saturday, Phillips was candid about his expectations.

"I didn’t expect it to be a game," Phillips said. "That shocked us. They were keying in, making plays. You can tell coach and them, they got the right set, it’s just up to us to make the plays."

In fact, seeing the Tigers come that close to upsetting the back-to-back national champions gave Phillips confidence in what Auburn is building.

"When you see a team that’s fighting, not giving up and playing the whole game, it’s crazy," Phillips said. "I don’t see why you would want to go anywhere else. You got a chance to come in and play. You see what the coaches are doing with the players they already got now. Just imagine when you get 3-4-5 stars playing positions, it’s gonna be a different feel."

Auburn likes the 6-foot-3 Phillips at the Jack linebacker position, where current Appalachian State transfer Jalen McLeod is the primary guy. Phillips, who wasn't familiar with McLeod prior to Saturday, liked what he saw.

"He’s a dog," Phillips said. "He was there every play, he did his job he held his own."

There's a chance Phillips takes an official visit to Tennessee, as he's still close with some members of its coaching staff, but remains all Auburn and plans to enroll early.

He'll be back in town in November for the Iron Bowl, with expectations for an Auburn win.

"We’re gonna kill ‘em," Phillips said. "We’re gonna beat them by 50, I believe it."

[Paladin 3,305]

 

[rophle 256]

Just posted this in Phat’s thread, but I’ll post it here too. 

Phillips looked good in the first half of their game against Andalusia last night, he made some plays that showed why we want him at Auburn.

However, he never gets to leave the field. He had to play QB the entire second half, and ran nothing but wildcat right and left because their starter got hurt at the beginning of the third qtr. He took a beating and got tired. 
He showed a lot of heart and is physically gifted, he’ll look good in orange and blue next year. 

[Paladin 3,305]

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Paladin

[Paladin 3,305]

LB commit: Auburn defense 'spectacular'

Caleb Jones • AuburnSports

Staff

@CalebJ_Rivals

PIKE ROAD, Ala. — Auburn pulled Joseph Phillips away from Georgia at the last minute.

It seemed all set that Phillips was going to commit to Georgia back in June, but the Tigers made a late push and landed his commitment instead. Five months later, he's still all set with his decision and is ready for the next step with Auburn.

"Everything’s done, I’m going," Phillips said. "That’s my school."

The 6-foot-3 linebacker was in action Friday night, as Booker T. Washington traveled to face Pike Road and fellow Auburn commit Malik Bloctonf or the regular season finale. He spoke highly of his future teammate following the game.

"Malik’s gonna be good," Phillips said. "I feel like the college and the area surrounding him at Auburn, he’s gonna be a breakout player. He’s got a big chance to make some plays as a freshman."

Phillips knows he has a chance to make some plays himself, too, but putting the two on the same defense is "gonna be crazy."

Overseeing the defense is Ron Roberts, and Phillips feels like the transition into the coordinators' schemes will be seamless.

"Ron Roberts' defense, it’s spectacular," Phillips said. "If you see the film of guys just in the right place where he wants them to be, it’s easy to make plays. The defense isn’t hard to learn, you just have to learn it and be in the right position."

Booker T. Washington lost 29-16 to Pike Road, finishing its regular season with a record of 6-4. The Golden Eagles' season isn't quite done, though, as they travel to Tuscaloosa this upcoming Friday for a first round playoff game against the American Christian Academy.

Phillips has learned several lessons in his final season, but the personal growth as a leader is what sticks out to him the most.

"I would say I’ve grown as a leader," Phillips said. "Football is always gonna be football, you’re gonna make plays, you’re not gonna make plays. You’re gonna miss this, you’re gonna do that. As a leader, I feel like I’m sorta stepping up into the role of just becoming what I needed to be to go to college."

[Mikey 16,629]

Along with Blockton, Phillips is another AU commit who won TV channel 12's Player of the Week award. He played QB, RB and LB, seldom coming off the field. I don't recall any other season where we had two future Tigers win this award. It's pretty prestigious, as they include most of the Central/South Alabama high school football games.

[ellitor 33,106]

Thread title updated. With landing Waller, we are now reruiting Phillips solely as a LB.

[bigbird 60,567]

This may be the best LB class we've ever signed and we could top it next year. 

[Tigerfinz 1,362]

Just now, bigbird said:

This may be the best LB class we've ever signed and we could top it next year. 

 Man, won't that be something! Hate that we have to wait another year for it! 

[WFE12 9,191]

 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

I am so confused by the players that signed early. I guess they did it to be able to practice today? The players that sign on Wednesday, can they practice on Thursday? 

[ellitor 33,106]

2 hours ago, gr82b4au said:

I am so confused by the players that signed early. I guess they did it to be able to practice today? The players that sign on Wednesday, can they practice on Thursday? 

@gr82b4au the players who have signed before the 20th haven't signed their NLIs regardless of what any AU reporter has said. They have signed their grant papers which allows them to take part in bowl prep. NLIs signed on the 20th do not allow for bowl prep because they are intent contracts for the next academic year.