Once the nation’s No. 1-rated recruit, in two years at UCLA, Phillips dealt with an ankle injury, a wrist injury in an off-the-field accident and a concussion that led him to retire his football dreams. After deciding he wanted to come back to the game, he transferred to the Miami Hurricanes, sitting out the 2019 season before becoming eligible to play.
Now a redshirt junior, the anticipation for his UM debut was only intensified ahead of fall camp when fellow defensive end and top NFL draft prospect Gregory Rousseau opted out of the 2020 season. Phillips is in a position to start opposite of Temple transfer Quincy Roche or at least be in the rotation of top three defensive ends with redshirt freshman Jahfari Harvey.