A relieved but excited Reese Phillips was breathing easier and actually preparing Saturday afternoon to get a nap.
He had just arrived back in Chattanooga after pulling a U-Haul trailer filled with belongings from Lexington, Ky., which has been his home away from home the last couple of years.
After a turbulent month as he contemplated and then decided to ask for his release from the University of Kentucky football program, the former Signal Mountain quarterback is headed to Montana.
Phillips visited the campus and coaching staff in Missoula from Tuesday through Thursday morning – an official visit – and called head coach Bob Stitt on Friday to tell him he wanted to commit to the Grizzlies.
“They sent me the papers. I’ve signed them. I just haven’t yet faxed them back,” he said Saturday.
Phillips said the stress is gone.
“Totally,” he agreed. “This is the first time I have really laid down in like a week. I’m so excited to have it all done.”
Classes don’t resume at Montana until Jan. 25, so he has some down time before heading to Missoula. Yet his midweek visit gave him the comfort zone he had been seeking. He wanted to go to a top-drawer Football Championship Subdivision program and compete for a job, and that was one reason Montana was high on his list, although he also talked with Austin Peay and Mercer.
“I pretty much spent two solid days with the coaches. Everyone out there is awesome. I just had to make sure that I was going to feel comfortable,” he said. “Yeah, there was snow everywhere, but it wasn’t brutally cold. It’s a dry cold out there, whereas there were times at Kentucky when the weather made it miserable, and I’ve always loved it out West.”
Phillips, who’ll be a junior, already had completed requirements at Kentucky for his major – media arts – and is two semesters from graduation. He said he plans to work on his master’s degree while completing his football eligibility.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.