Dru Phillips happy to join 'band of brothers' against hometown team

Opt-outs have come to define college football bowl season, but that’s not the case with the Kentucky Wildcats. Dru Phillips is leaving some eligibility on the table to enter the NFL Draft in April. Instead of playing it safe, he’s joining his teammates for one last ride in the Gator Bowl.

“I just wanted to play one more with these guys. I didn’t want to be the guy to sit out and leave ’em, so I needed to get one more (game),” Phillips told reporters after Wednesday’s practice in Jacksonville.

The opponent certainly played a factor in his decision. Phillips grew up in Louisville, but his family moved to the Greenville, South Carolina area for his high school years. Located just 45 minutes away from Clemson, it made his decision to play that much easier.

“I got some buddies on the team. It’s gonna be fun. Definitely with the school being right down the street from me, it’s one of those games I wanted to play in before I left.”

He added, “It definitely was a big part of my decision because it is good competition. I get to go out there against some good wide receivers, love the reps.”

This will not be his final game wearing a Kentucky football helmet. That will happen next month alongside Ray Davis at the Senior Bowl in Mobile. Like the Senior Bowl, this is an invaluable opportunity to give scouts more good tape against talented competition.

Clemson is a name brand, but that’s not unusual for the Wildcats. Kentucky faced four teams ranked in the top ten of the final AP poll of the regular season. The defense is not intimidated by the Clemson logo.

“Confident, that’s the main word. We’re a band of brothers,” Phillips said. “Everyone’s having fun. We’re unified and we really want to go win this bowl game.”

Kentucky Defense Confident Entering Gator Bowl

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