Phillips was a key member of the Kentucky secondary and is now ready to begin his pro career.
Andru Phillips is calling it a career with the Kentucky Wildcats.
On Thursday, Phillips announced he was declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.
Phillips will not play in Kentucky’s upcoming bowl game.
New beginnings
Ecclesiastes 11:4 pic.twitter.com/0hM2tEBcZw
— dru (@AndruPhillips) November 30, 2023
Originally a class of 2020 recruit, Phillips redshirted during his first year in Lexington. In 2021, he played in nine games and made three tackles.
In 2022, Phillips became a key player for the Kentucky secondary, playing in all 13 games while starting four times. He finished the season with 31 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and five pass breakups.
This season, Phillips started in 11 games, playing heavy snaps at both the slot and boundary cornerback while missing one game due to injury. He recorded 44 tackles, one tackle for loss, and four pass deflections. Phillips also made several big plays in the Wildcats’ 38-31 win at No. 10 Louisville, including a late pass deflection to prevent the Cards from getting into the red zone.
It’s no secret that Kentucky’s secondary wasn’t good enough overall to compete at a high level in the SEC, but Phillips was consistently one of its best players, so losing him will definitely hurt the secondary since it’s already thin to begin with.
Phillips joins running back Ray Davis and offensive lineman Kenneth Horsey as players to declare for the draft and thus opt out of whatever bowl game the Cats will play in.
Best of luck to Phillips as he now looks to begin his NFL career.