5-stars are expected to see the field right away. That was not the path for Jacob Phillips, who as the nation’s No. 2 linebacker in January 2017, was two weeks away from signing his national letter of intent with Oklahoma.

Weeks after earning the head coaching job at LSU, Ed Orgeron sat in Phillips’ living room and made elaborate promises to the then-5-star linebacker in hopes of exacting a flip. The coach with the Cajun accent came through.

Phillips committed and then signed with LSU, but spent his freshman season in a reserve role. The Nashville, Tenn., native had certainly questioned that decision days ahead of National Signing Day, but those concerns were put to rest on Sunday when Phillips took the field as the starting middle linebacker beside Devin White.

Click here to continue reading.