Utah’s Phillips Declares for NFL Draft, Opting Out of Rose Bowl
The University of Utah's shutdown cornerback of the past few seasons, Clark Phillips III, announced on Monday that he is declaring for the NFL draft. The 2022 a Jim Thorpe Award finalist made it official on Twitter:
In addition, Phillips has also opted out of playing in the Rose Bowl against Penn State.
The former 4-star Rivals recruit out of La Habrá, California was not only a huge recruiting win for the Utes, but also a major steal on signing day for the 2020 class. Phillips was verbally committed to Ohio State and flipped to Utah on early signing day. He was the No. 67 rated prospect in the country and the No. 8 cornerback.
Phillips came to campus on the heels of Jaylon Johnson's tenure at Utah before he was selected No. 50 overall in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and exceptions were for Phillips to step right in to compete for that starting spot. Not only did he compete, but he started all 31 games he played in at Utah.
Here are just some of the accolades on the Clark Phillips III list of accomplishments:
9 career interceptions4 career pick-sixes
232 career interception return yards (4th all-time in school history)
21 career passes defended (T-10th all-time in school history)
Recorded 3 interceptions and a pick-six against Oregon State in 2022, Utah's first three-interception game since 2009
2021 Pac-12 All-Conference and AP All-Pac-12 second team
2022 Pac-12 All-Conference first team
Three-time All-America selection (The Athletic First Team; CBS Sports First Team; PFF Honorable Mention)
2022 Jim Thorpe Award Finalist
2022 Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalist
Phillips came in as one of Utah's highest rated recruits and he leaves as one of the schools best corners in its history. Not only did he live up to the hype, but he raised the bar on a national stage for Utah's reputation for developing great cornerbacks. A key player in Utah's back-to-back Pac-12 titles, Phillips will be able to immediately contribute for an NFL team, joining a long list of former Utah cornerbacks.
Phillips will now place his focus on the upcoming NFL Combine with hopes of cementing himself as a Day-1 draft pick.