Is Reese Phillips Salty at Coach Stoops?

by:Miss J.C. Ausmus•12/27/15•

@JC_KSR

[caption id="attachment_168676" align="alignnone" width="600"]Andrew Bruckse | UT Athletics Andrew Bruckse | UT Athletics[/caption] In an interview with the Times Free Press, transferring former UK QB Reese Phillips was apparently at odds with Coach Stoops. In the interview, Phillips states that when he made the request to transfer, Coach Stoops "all but hung up on him." Phillips went on again, stating that it was his understanding that he would retain a medical redshirt after rupturing his Achilles' tendon. "He said (in the second conversation) he didn't remember talking to me about any medical redshirt," Phillips said in the interview. Reese Phillips had high praise for departing Offensive Coordinator Coach Shannon Dawson:
"If Coach Dawson was still at Kentucky, I'd still be there, too," Phillips said. "I had thought about transferring last spring and then got hurt, but I have nothing but good things to say about Coach Dawson. He's the best and he's the reason that I have decided I want to become a coach when my playing days are over. He's a friend and the type coach I want to be."
The last straw, according to Reese, was after Dawson was fired and Stoops announced that sophomore Drew Barker would be the Kentucky starting QB in 2016. It was also, Phillips said, why Patrick Towles decided to transfer out of the program as well.
"That wasn't really fair to Pat or to me. Drew is a friend, but speaking honestly he didn't do anything special those last two games and Stoops still gave him the job. That wasn't fair," Phillips said. "I'm not the type to make excuses, but I never got beat out. If I get beat out wherever I go from here, I'm man enough to admit that I got beat out."
It appears that Reese's departure was not as amicable as Patrick's. It will be interesting to see what direction Coach Stoops goes in hiring a new Offensive Coordinator, and the results of the 2016 national signing day class. To read the article, head over here.   

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