HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY RECRUITING FEATURES

Recruiting Update: Whop Philyor – ATH – Plant

With a month before National Signing Day, Plant ATH Whop Philyor is still narrowing down his college choices.

A month removed from football and a state championship game appearance, Philyor’s world has started to calm down a little, knowing that college visits are still hanging in the balance before Feb. 1.

Plant ATH Whop Philyor is confident he will excel at the college level.
Plant ATH Whop Philyor is confident he will excel at the college level.

Philyor’s speed helped him have an incredible season statistically, like many of his Plant teammates, doubling his receiving yards total from 697 in 2015 to 1,282 in 2016. His all-purpose yard total blossomed to 1,716 in his senior season.

His speed certainly helped him – Philyor was a menace for other teams to stop once he got into open space. That speed could possibly be used in a Pac-12 West-Coast offense when he travels to Arizona sometime in January to visit the Wildcats in Tuscon. “I’m scheduling a visit to Arizona sometime soon with my quarterback, Dane [Frantzen] soon. They just kinda came back in the mix and we’ve been talking a lot lately,” Philyor said.

Power Five schools have noticed Philyor over the past year – eight of his twelve verbal offers are from those programs. “I definitely feel like I can play for a Power Five, but at this point, I’m not going to wait for one of them to offer.”

However, one of those Power Five programs, Indiana, has captured a lot of interest from Philyor. Fellow Plant teammate Thomas Allen committed last spring, and has now graduated early to travel to Bloomington to practice with the team. His father, Tom Allen, is now the head coach at Indiana, which has also added interest.

“I really like Indiana, and I have since they entered the picture. They’re always texting me, everyday, saying things like, ‘have a great afternoon Whop,’ ‘hope you have a great day,’ and it’s those little things that I really like.”

Having someone that he’s played with for four years helps as well. “Thomas and I have been talking a lot about things about Indiana, he said we would be roommates, and I know for a fact there would be no way that I could get off-track there,” Philyor said.

Even with those two, Philyor still hasn’t narrowed a top choice down. “Coach [Robert] Weiner keeps telling me that there’s going to be more offers on the way to to be patient with things, so I still can’t say I have any top schools yet.”

Philyor’s defensive abilities have been noticed by big-time programs like Oregon. Last season, he intercepted two passes and interfered with 20 more on the season. He’s a solid guy to stick in any college secondary. “Oregon has been talking to me about offering me as a DB, and Coach [Willie] Taggart may be visiting me soon.”

The athlete hasn’t declared a commitment date, and is still open to committing before National Signing Day next month. His travels to Indiana and Arizona may be the deciding factors in his decision.