Around signing day when fans started doing the math it became apparent that UC had a few more scholarships available for the 2010 class to reach the 85 man limit. In late March there was speculation that those two scholarships would go to Kenbrell Thompkins and Darrell Scott. While Thompkins is and will be a Bearcat it remains to be seen if Tennessee will release him from his letter of intent allowing him to take one of those scholarships this year or if he will have to pay his own way for a year at which point his LOI will be null in void. The Darrell Scott line of thought while viable at the time has turned out to be unfounded. But one of the other scholarships will be going to Ty Phillips.
Phillips was originally a member of the 2009 Missouri class. He is supposed to be on the verge of qualification right now which is a good thing. Bearcatlair.com has a full write up on Phillips here and I have to say I like what I hear so far. He strikes me as a kid who has made some mistakes, is aware that he made them, and is taking the right steps to make things right. And I say that as someone who had gone through that process myself. Several times. He seems down to earth and really grounded
I really like him as a player as well. He is a bit undersized as a defensive tackle but his get off is incredible. He is very fundamentally sound, he takes on cut blocks like a DT should, he plays double teams perfectly and he doesn't give up on plays. Check out the 2 minute mark to see him chase down a running back from about 15 yards out. He is a high effort kid who has received some outstanding coaching along the way. This is a very, very good job by Butch Jones to get Ty Phillips in the fold. It is not stretch to say that he could come to Clifton and be in the defensive tackle rotation right away. He doesn't have a ton of size, but in a 4-3 that isn't a bad thing. Not when you have his get off, motor or lateral movement. He isn't highly regarded by rivals or scout, but the kid can flat out play. Brandon Mills better get ready because Phillips is going to push him very, very hard for that starting spot opposite Derek Wolfe.