Last weekend, several prospects from the state of Alabama visited the Florida Gators for junior day including a few prospects who made their first trip to Gainesville.
2024 linebacker Joseph Phillips (6-3, 225, Tuskegee, AL. Booker T. Washington) was on campus and enjoyed getting to meet everyone and see what the Gators’ have to offer.
“It was fun, pretty exciting,” Phillips said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. I got to talk to a lot of people, I had fun with the coaches mainly. We got a full campus tour, I got to see the field, got to wear the jersey and I got to see the academic program. I didn’t know that Florida’s academics were that high, they’re like a top-five school.”
While on campus, Phillips had the chance to speak with the coaching staff including two coaches.
“I talked to Coach Billy [Napier], Coach Mike P [Peterson], pretty much the whole coaching staff basically,” he said. “They had it set up where we got to talk to everyone but the one, I was with the most was Mike Peterson because he’s my position coach.”
Head coach Billy Napier met with Phillips on Saturday and offered the linebacker after explaining what Florida likes about his game.
“Coach Billy offered me,” Phillips said. “He was just like he likes my size, and he likes what I do on the field, and he wants me to come play inside linebacker, I don’t have any problem with that, but I wouldn’t mind coming off the edge too. He likes how I battle with my hands and attack the ball.”
Outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson also met with Phillips and watched film with the linebacker to show him how he would play in the Gators’ defense.
“Pretty much the same thing but he was just giving me the whole outlook on the defense,” he said on his talks with Peterson. “He showed me some film on the position I would play which is inside and some outside linebacker.”
After meeting the coaching staff for the first time Phillips walked away impressed by the coaching staff and the atmosphere around campus.
“They’re all real down-to-earth people, he likes the people around here where I’m from,” Phillips said. “They keep it real, and they don’t tell you anything just to get you to come to the school. Coach Billy is very straightforward.”
Phillips has Alabama and Auburn after him hard but he says the Gators’ are a school he’s high on as well.
“Florida is up there real high, they’re going to be one of the schools that I’m going to look at,” he said on where Florida stands for him. “I like it’s a collective group of people that are really into what they’re doing. It’s like a family.”