Kyle Phillips (5) poses for a photo during The University of Tennessee Football Media Day at Neyland Stadium on Friday, August 14, 2015. KNOXVILLE – The promising freshman season Kyle Phillips was supposed to have never got off the ground because injuries wouldn’t let it.
A forgettable first year in the program is behind the sophomore defensive end now, though, and Phillips is eager to make an impact at Tennessee.
After undergoing shoulder surgery shortly after arriving on campus, the former five-star recruit from Nashville began carving out a role during the first half of last season before another shoulder injury sidelined him until this summer. Now Phillips is having an excellent preseason, constantly being mentioned by teammates and coaches for his performances in practice.
“I’m not going to lie, it was really tough,” Phillips said Friday during the Volunteers’ media day at Neyland Stadium. “I got in a groove of playing in the SEC and playing college ball, transitioning from high school, and I got hurt. But I have a lot of support in the team, my family and coaching staff that helped me get through it.
“I know it’s not the end of the world getting hurt. People get hurt all the time. I’ve just got to keep pushing forward. I have so much potential, and I know that if I just keep on pushing, a little injury’s not going to bother me. I’ve got to keep working hard, and it’s going to be all right.”
Last August the 6-foot-4, 259-pound Phillips drew comparisons to All-Southeastern Conference teammate Derek Barnett, but an ankle injury limited his role in the first two games. Over the next two games, he had three tackles against Western Carolina and recorded his first career sack at Florida, but he hurt his shoulder the following week against Arkansas and missed the next two games. He was sidelined for the season two games later.
“I think he was definitely frustrated,” defensive line coach Steve Stripling said. “When you talk about true freshmen coming in and playing their freshman year, especially up front on the line, it’s hard to do. He had just kind of worked himself to where he was getting more reps and was showing that he was capable of being competitive out there, and then he got hurt. Yeah, that’s frustrating for everybody involved.”
The frustration from the nature of his injuries and his role – he lined up inside as a tackle on passing downs in one defensive sub package – apparently was enough for transfer rumors to swirl last winter, though Phillips shot down any notion he ever was looking to leave.
“No way,” he said. “I’m loyal. I’ve never left a school in my life, from elementary school and middle school to high school. I’ve never left, and I’m not planning on it. Leaving, sometimes it can be good and sometimes it’s not as good. There’s no point in leaving to go somewhere that’s not as good as this place. There’s a lot of good things going on in this program, and this would be a terrible time to leave, if anything.”
Phillips said not playing “tore me up” mentally, but he took some positives from his negative situation and focused on improving mentally, looking for ways to put himself in position to make more plays.
Fighting for snaps at Tennessee’s deepest and perhaps most talented position, Phillips has made enough plays this month for Stripling to declare he’s had an “outstanding” camp.
“Any time you’re injured and you’re sitting there and you’re watching,” Stripling said, “I think that’s motivation that you want to get back quicker, that you want to get back better, that you have the mindset that this surgery or whatever it was will make me a better football player.
“You don’t ever worry about Kyle Phillips’s mindset (because) he’s always positive and always ready to work.”
What has stood out is how relentless he is pursuing the ball and how he’s able to generate pressure on quarterbacks.
“I’ve just been practicing really hard, running to the ball, just playing 100 percent every down, just trying to give my all,” Phillips said. “I think my biggest asset is my motor. You can make something out of nothing, and I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve been doing this summer. I still have a lot of room to improve. I’m not a perfect player.”
The past year matured Phillips and taught him a valuable lesson about maximizing every practice and every play.
“I’ve got to outwork everybody, because you never know when your last down will be,” Phillips said. “All these guys support me so much, and they see so much potential in me, I don’t want to let those guys down. That’s what makes me push every day.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.