2023 3-Star WR Josiah Phillips Commits To BYU

BYU added a big-time commitment to the 2023 recruiting class with WR Josiah Phillips announcing his commitment to BYU.

Phillips is rated a 3-star recruit by 247 Sports and is currently the second highest rated recruit in BYU’s 2023 class behind Jackson Bowers. He received multiple competing offers from Power-5 schools including Michigan State, Cal, Pitt, Colorado, Oregon State, and Boston College. He also received offers from Utah State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State. Phillips took unofficial visits to Fresno State, San Diego State, and BYU this summer. Oregon and LSU offered him as well early in the recruiting process.

Phillips preps at Sierra Canyon High School (Chatsworth, CA). A tall and long wide receiver standing at 6’5” and weighing 192 pounds, Phillips caught the attention of recruiters his freshman year with his natural athleticism. He was poised for a sophomore season to gain even more traction in his recruiting, but Covid had other plans. He lost his full sophomore season in the fall and played in a 6 game season during the spring. The shortened season did not go as well as anticipated and he decided to take his junior season off from football to focus on basketball.

However, his break from football did not last long. Phillips came back to football in the Spring of 2022 and participated in the 7v7 Tournament of Champions at Long Beach Millikan. Phillips impressed spectators and was deemed one of the top receivers who participated in the tournament.

Phillips is a long receiver that will catch everything thrown at him. He has great body control for being every bit of 6’5” and can adjust to the ball to come down with the catch. He possesses long strides to create speed when running routes. Phillips is a player with a great combination of size and speed with good ball skills to go with them.

A former player with a similar frame, that would be familiar to BYU fans, is Mitch Mathews. A tall and fast receiver who played with good body control and could go up and get it. Mathews was able to use his size and speed to his advantage and be a true mismatch against smaller defensive backs. Phillips could develop into another BYU receiver that has a similar skill set, maybe even better.

Because he sat out on his junior season, Phillips has not been recruited as heavily as he most likely would have been had he played football the entire time. He is currently an 87 rated recruit by 247 Sports. Being a higher 3-star with limited football experience in recent years, it’s safe to say Phillips would be pushing for a 4-star rating had he never stopped playing. BYU may have found themselves a steal of a recruit at wide receiver.

Phillips is the 13th commit for 2023 and the first wide receiver commit in the class. With Gunner Romney and likely Puka Nacua leaving after this season, he has a great chance to contribute right away.

You can watch Phillips’ highlights below.