re: Jacob Phillips

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The Oklahoma Sooners took their best shot to close the deal with four-star linebacker Jacob Phillips (6’3 225, 4.6 of Nashville (East Nashville Magnet School), Tennessee sending five coaches in to meet with he and his family including the HBC himself.

The meeting went great and throughout the visit when Phillips was talking to the OU coaches he was always referring to them as we and us and never wavered on his committed to OU. In fact he is still committed to OU and everything points to him signing with the Sooners. The Phillips family talked about when Phillips was to arrive following his graduation, what he needed to have, and what he needed to do before he arrived so that he would be ready to go once he did arrive in late May or early June.

OU did not ask him if he was going to take an unofficial visit to LSU, because that is not their style to bring up either schools, and since the family never brought up LSU the subject was never broached that he would take an unofficial visit anywhere. When OU left as far as they were concerned from their two hour visit with the family Phillips was all-in to sign with OU on February 1st.

However, while Phillips insist he is committed to OU and will sign with OU he is now staying that he and his family will take an unofficial visit to LSU this weekend and they will be flying down to spend 2 days in Baton Rouge just like they would on an official visit. The difference they will have to pay for everything that they do on the visit because they are totally on their own dime.

While Phillips is saying all the right things about OU the fact that he and his family feels the need to take an unofficial to LSU means that that he has not closed the door on signing with the Tigers. If you are going to spend your own dime on a visit and that is not one, but three flights while he seems all in and totally committed to OU, the reality is he is not totally-in to the point that he will not check out another school on an unofficial visit with his family.

Phillips has to feel important to the Sooners because OU Head Coach Bob Stoops, OU Defensive Coordinator Mike Stops, OU linebacker Coach Tim Kish, secondary Coach Kerry Cooks, and OU wide receiver Coach Dennis Simmons were all there for the visit. Phillips had his parents and his coach there and throughout the visit there was never any indication that he was not going to sign with OU. They loved how real the OU coaches were and the track record of Coach Stoops talking care of his players.

After the visit Phillips called OU safety commit Robert Barnes (6’2, 198, 4.57) of Southlake (Carroll), Texas and talked for over an hour about what it is going to be like for Sooner Squad 17 at OU and Phillips told Barnes he can't wait to play with Sooner Squad 17.

That being said Phillips feels compelled to see what LSU is all about and he and his family will fly into Baton Rouge this weekend, and the Tigers will have three days to work on he and his family about signing with LSU. Welcome to the ‘whacky world of recruiting’ as recruiting is crazy and alway has been but while OU feels great about their visit with Phillips and his family they still have work to do to make sure he signs with them on February 1st.

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