Gator commit sways Phillips

News broke Friday night that the Florida Gators had landed their first 2015 commitment with Miami (Fla.) Central receiver Da’Vante Phillips.

The 6-foot-1, 189-pound Phillips said the atmosphere shown by the coaching staff was the main reason for his commitment.

“It’s a good school and the coaches are family,” Phillips said. “I’ve been in touch with Florida’s coaches the longest of any school. Last year, when I came up here, I got to see everything. I really liked the atmosphere, it’s close to home for me.”

Much has been made of Phillips’ teammate Dalvin Cook. Cook has been recruiting a lot of people to Florida, including Phillips, everyday.

“Everyday he sends me a text saying, “GatorNation,”” Phillips said. “He wanted me to be a Gator with him bad.”

With Phillips and Cook playing together at Miami Central, Phillips says playing with Cook at Florida is something he has wanted for a while.

“Me and him playing together at Florida is a dream come true for me,” Phillips said. “He has the speed and he will be running the ball behind me while I’m blocking for him. He will be open, and when teams stop him, than we can throw the ball deep to me and I’ll be open.”

Dalvin Cook has been recruiting Phillips hard, but he has also been recruiting fellow receiver Ermon Lane. Phillips says that the two top receivers have a very good relationship.

“Me and Ermon have a friendly competition against each other,” Phillips said. “Ermon is the #1 receiver in the nation and I feel like I’m the #1 receiver in my class. We trash talk with each other, but we handle business on the field and do our job. We want to do our best against each other, but to be able to potentially play with him is exciting.”

Phillips says that Friday Night Lights was special to him because he was able to play under the lights in the Swamp.

 

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.