Evan Moore may not catch another touchdown this year for the Cardinal, after
his hip dislocation injury in the second quarter of Stanford's season opening
game, but that does not mean he is done scoring. One play he made
that might still light up the scoreboard for Walt Harris came in April.
North Bethesda (Md.) Georgetown Prep offensive lineman Andrew Phillips took
an unofficial visit across the country to The Farm last spring. In tow was
his 6'4" freshman brother, Colt Phillips, now a sophomore who looks to be one of the exciting
tight end prospects in the Class of 2008 crop. Being Andrew Phillips' kid
brother carries a certain cachet back in Maryland, but Colt came to The Farm in
April as a simple fan of Stanford Football.
"My little brother - well, my younger brother - has watched Stanford a couple
times on TV. He's a huge, huge fan of Evan Moore. He just loves the
way he plays, with his tenacity and his heart. Evan Moore is a 6-6 or 6-7
guy who runs like he's 5-10," the elder Phillips explains.
When the Phillips boys visited Stanford in April, it gave Colt a chance to
see Moore up close. Perhaps a smile, 'hello' or a handshake would come
from the star wide receiver to the youngster. To his surprise, he found
much more. Despite a difficult spring, as Moore adjusted to the demands of
his new coaching staff, the 6'7" gentle giant stepped aside after practice and
talked for 10 minutes with the young fan from Maryland.
"My brother got to talk with his hero. That left a great impression on
me. He seems like an awesome guy," says the Georgetown Prep senior.
That personal touch from the Cardinal's jumbo junior is fit for a "priceless"
punchline to end an American Express commercial, but Andrew Phillips has more he
says that excites him about Stanford. He made a second trip to Palo Alto
in June, when he and his brother attended Stanford's overnight football camp.
"I fell in love with the place," 6'4" offensive line recruit reveals.
"It's a great atmosphere with great people and a great climate."
"One thing I've come to really love about Stanford is the location," Phillips
adds. "It's close to San Francisco, which is just a great city, but not so
close that you feel like you live in a city."
He plays right tackle for Georgetown Prep, but the 6'4" three-star recruit
projects as an offensive guard or center at the college level. Phillips
has had a visible recruiting profile since his sophomore year, picking up
scholarship offers from Maryland, Syracuse, Louisville, North Carolina and Duke.
Though the Cardinal had him at their camp, it was Phillips' strong senior film
that earned him a Pac-10 offer on Thursday.
"I talked to Coach Harris and he told me that they had an offer for
me, if I can get accepted," says Scout.com's #16 recruit in Maryland.
"I just turned my application in. I'm waiting for one or two
recommendations. It all has to do with getting in."
With a 3.7 unweighted GPA at Georgetown Prep and a schedule loaded with AP courses,
Phillips stands a good chance of fulfilling his half of the Cardinal's
conditional scholarship offer. Though the distance is considerable, he
holds Stanford as one of his favorites today.
"Stanford is a place that would be great to be part of," he offers.
"I'm very, very interested in Stanford. Just their approach to keeping the
student first. They would be attractive to me even without the football -
it's pretty amazing. Everybody - the coaches and the players - treated me,
my dad and my brother extremely well."
Though Phillips has a number of offers, he is waiting to schedule his
official visits for after his senior season. His is a story that will
unfold in the winter, and one to follow closely.
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