Kyle Phillips, DE, Tennessee 2019 NFL Draft

CAREER HONORS

• Named to 2018 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List
• SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week (10/15/18)
• Semifinalist for the 2018 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award
• Semifinalist for the 2018 Campbell Trophy
• Nominee for 2018 AFCA Good Works Team 
• Collected Google Cloud Academic All-District honors in 2018
• Inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) National Leadership Honor Society (2017)
• Member of the second VOLeaders Academy Class (2017)
• 2017 SEC Academic Honor Roll
• 2016 SEC Academic Honor Roll
• 2015 SEC Academic Honor Roll

CAREER 

• Developed into an outstanding leader on and off the field for the Vols and was named a permanent captain for the 2018 season…Completed his career by playing in 41 games with 20 starts…Finished his career with 114 tackles, 16 TFLs, eight sacks and nine passes defended…A three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient, who is a semifinalist for the 2018 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award and the 2018 Campbell Trophy. 

2018 – SENIOR

• Finished third on the Vols with 56 tackles and second in sacks (5.0) and TFLs (8.0) in 2018, while leading UT with five hurries and adding a pick-six, four pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick
• Honored with several awards at the year-end team banquet, including the Bill Majors Award and Defensive Player of the Year 
• Concluded his collegiate career with six tackles, one sack, one hurry and one pass breakup at Vanderbilt (11/24)
• Blocked the first kick of his career, a PAT attempt, and led Tennessee with seven tackles and a sack vs. Missouri (11/17)
• Logged six tackles and a TFL vs. No. 11 Kentucky (11/10)
• Made four solo tackles, including a sack for a loss of nine yards en route to tying his career high TFLs total with two vs. Charlotte (11/3)
• Recorded six tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss at South Carolina (10/27)
• Returned the first interception of his career for a 27-yard touchdown, picking off Alabama’s Jalen Hurts  (10/20)
• Forced the first fumble of his career that resulted in a UT touchdown while logging a career-high nine tackles at No. 21 Auburn (10/13)
• Made seven tackles at No. 2 Georgia
• Recovered the first fumble of his career vs. Florida and returned it four yards (9/22)
• Tallied a season-high three tackles vs. UTEP (9/15)
• Broke up a pass and recorded one tackle vs. ETSU in the home opener (9/8)
• Started the season opener against West Virginia at defensive end where he recorded two tackles and hurried the quarterback a career-high two times (9/1)
   

2017 – JUNIOR

• Games/Starts: 12/7
• Started seven games and played in all 12 at defensive end where he totaled 35 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, two PBUs and four quarterback hurries 
• Tallied four tackles against Missouri (11/11)
• Tallied the first multi-sack game of his career, hitting Southern Miss’s quarterback two times for a loss of 13 yards.
• Recorded a career-high six tackles at No. 1 Alabama (10/21)
• Collected three tackles in his first start (left end) of 2017 vs. South Carolina (10/14).
• Made three tackles vs. UMass (9/23), including a tackle for loss

2016 – SOPHOMORE

•  Photo Gallery
• 2016 GAME-BY-GAME STATISTICS
• Games/Starts: 11/1
• Posted two tackles and one TFL at Vanderbilt (11/26)
• Tallied four tackles (three solo) in win vs. Missouri (11/19)
• Had two tackles and two pass breakups against Kentucky (11/12)
• Made first start of career at DT vs. Tennessee Tech (11/5)
• Played at defensive tackle at South Carolina (10/29), making career-high five tackles (three solo) with one TFL for one yard
• Saw action off the bench at Texas A&M (10/8) and against Alabama (10/15)
• Had one tackle in win vs. Florida (9/24)
• Made season debut vs. Virginia Tech (9/10) with one tackle and saw playing time vs. Ohio (9/17)

2015 – FRESHMAN

•  Photo Gallery
• 2015 GAME-BY-GAME STATISTICS
• Games/Starts: 6/0
• First true freshman to have black stripe removed in 2015, coming on Aug. 10
• Suffered season-ending shoulder injury in game vs. South Carolina (11/7)
• Played in six games, making eight tackles with one sack and 1.5 TFLs in 2015 as a reserve defensive end
• Returned to action at Kentucky (10/31) and made one tackle
• Sat out two games with shoulder injury, suffered vs. Arkansas (10/3)
• Three tackles including first career sack and TFL at Florida (9/26)
• First three tackles of career vs. Western Carolina (9/19)
• One of 15 true freshmen to make college debut vs. Bowling Green (9/5) in his return to his hometown

HIGH SCHOOL

• Lettered at Hillsboro High School in Nashville, Tenn., for coach Louis C. Clayton
• 247 Sports: 4-star (No. 7 strong side defensive end, No. 2 prospect in Tennessee)
• ESPN: 4-star (No. 18 defensive tackle, No. 5 prospect in Tennessee)
• Rivals: 4-star (No. 11 strong side defensive end, No. 3 prospect in Tennessee)
• Scout: 4-star (No. 12 defensive end, No. 1 defensive end in Tennessee)
• Played 2015 Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas
• Had 33 sacks in three seasons at Hillsboro
• Named All-Midstate and one of Tennessean’s Dandy Dozen in 2014
• Posted 58 tackles with 22.5 tackles for loss with 13 sacks as a senior in 2014
• Helped Burros to a 14-1 record and Tennessee State Class 5A Championship game
• Recorded eight sacks in 2013 junior season before suffering injury
• Posted 35 tackles with 12 sacks and five forced fumbles as a sophomore
• High school teammate with fellow Tennessee Vol Kyle Phillips

PERSONAL

• Full Name: Kyle Phillips
• Born: May 5, 1997 
• Son of Teresa Phillips
• Mother Teresa serves as Director of Athletics at Tennessee State University in Nashville
• Majoring in Communication Studies
• Recipient of Jim & Natalie Haslam Athletic Scholarship

He is built in the traditional sense of the position with his six-foot-four and 277-pound frame he is no hybrid end. Phillips has and can play multiple positions along the line of scrimmage. Plays with leverage and gets upfield. Gives good effort in pursuit. High-motor type. Gets his hands up to disrupt throwing lanes. His parents were both collegiate athletes and his mother Teresa serves as Director of Athletics at Tennessee State University in Nashville.

Phillips was brought up in a household that emphasizes the both being a student and humanitarian. A very well-rounded individual who has taken major steps towards this up-coming NFL Draft since the 2018 season began last year. He was relatively off the radar but after a breakout senior season along with a great all-star and Regional Combine performances, he is front and center on the radar now.

His forty-time under 4.7 (4.65) is going to turn heads in a positive way. Phillips is a realistic day-three prospect who can develop into a functional defensive end at the next level.