As Phillips fights for Falcons roster spot, a piece of his past leads Dolphins

MIAMI — Everyone knew him as “Little Hulk,” a 5-foot-10, 180-pound ball of muscle and one of the nation’s best high school cornerbacks. Schools across the country wanted him. For a year, Ohio State had no chance. For six months, the Buckeyes claimed him as theirs.

Then, a Hulk Smash broke that dream.

As he looks back on the summer of 2019, Clark Phillips III, now a cornerback for the Falcons, can’t help but think it would have been different.

The Phillips family didn’t view Ohio State as a fit until co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley arrived. Hafley, who carried seven years of experience as an NFL defensive backs coach, flew to the Los Angeles area to visit Phillips and his family.

Hafley convinced them of his plan, of Phillips’ fit in the defense and of his commitment to developing the Orange County Register’s defensive player of the year. While other college coaches were enamored by Phillips’ flashy ball production, Hafley sold a defined vision for how to maximize his skill set within the Buckeyes’ defense.

“Great convos,” Phillips said Tuesday of Hafley’s visit. “Man, it feels like it was so long ago. It feels like that was 10 years ago. Like, what? Time flies by. But all in all, great dude.”

Hafley did enough to secure Phillips’ commitment in June 2019. But on Dec. 14, 2019, Hafley left to become Boston College’s head coach. Phillips decommitted five days later, flipping his pledge to Utah.

“When we found out, it was like, ‘All right, if Jeff’s not going to be there, that’s my guy,’” Phillips said. “I was like, ‘Oh, no, I can’t. I don’t know who’s going to be the new guy.’ So, had to pivot there.”

In retrospect, Phillips says he “likely” would have stayed committed to Ohio State if Hafley hadn’t left. The Buckeyes, he said, “would have been damn good.”

But Utah worked out quite well. Phillips started every game as a freshman in 2020, earned All-Pac-12 honors as a sophomore in 2021 and was a unanimous All-American and conference defensive player of the year as a junior in 2022.

A fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Phillips now enters the final season of his rookie contract in a relatively safe — but far from secure — position on the Falcons’ roster with cuts looming Sunday.

He has one final chance to make a statement and lock himself into another year in Atlanta, and it comes Friday at 7 p.m. against the Dolphins, who are led, of course, by Hafley. It’s a fitting scene, an ever-important preseason affair that may dictate Phillips’ future, and standing on the other sideline is the coach he once thought would help him reach such a stage.

“I look forward to obviously going to war with him this weekend,” Phillips said, “and actually seeing him. Hopefully, I get to dap him up after the game and all of that stuff. A hell of a coach.”

The Falcons have a wealth of riches at cornerback. Of the 13 they have on their roster, eight have played at least three seasons in the NFL. No other position on their team is as deep in experience and production.

Falcons secondary coach Justin Hood said the theme of his meeting room is competition. It’s healthy, and there’s a natural friendship attached to it, but it leads to what Hood described “difficult” roster decisions.

Competition extends to the hardwood, too. Hood and Phillips played basketball over the summer in Flowery Branch, and the 40-year-old Hood, who has a strong hooping reputation inside the walls of Falcons headquarters, claims he bested the 24-year-old Phillips — a lot.

“Let’s just say that day, I didn’t lose a game,” Hood said, laughing. “Clark’s a good athlete, obviously, and I’m old, short and bald. (But) Clark’s definitely a good athlete.”

Athleticism, however, isn’t at the center of Phillips’ growth since arriving in Flowery Branch three years ago, nor since Hood joined the staff in the spring of 2024.

Remember Phillips’ recruitment process? Teams loved his ball skills. He carried them over to college, where he collected nine interceptions and four pick-sixes at Utah. That became his identity.

“When I first got here, he came in and the biggest questions were, ‘How do I make plays?’” Hood said. “So, his mindset was, ‘I need to go make plays. I could have 20 bad plays, but I made an interception.’”

Hood didn’t like that. Conversations followed about how to grow Phillips’ skill set and where he could take his game. Phillips flashed in 2024, starting two of 16 appearances and notching an interception, but a triceps injury limited him to just one game in 2025.

Last year, Phillips admits, was “super tough.” His status was often in the air. He didn’t know when, or if, he’d be able to come back. He preached positivity to himself, and he stayed around the building as often as those who played every snap. He wanted to take anything he could from an otherwise lost season.

If nothing else, his habits have remained.

“Clark is always here,” Hood said. “When I come into my office, I promise you, five minutes later in the morning, Clark Phillips walks in and he essentially starts the day with me in my office, asking a ton of questions. His notebook is full of notes.”

Phillips has delivered a solid summer. He’s consistently worked with the second-team defense as an outside corner and been a steady, reliable presence opposite C.J. Henderson.

Not much splash. Just effectiveness.

“He’s done the work,” Hood said. “And to this point in training camp, he’s put himself in position to not only make the plays and have big plays on the ball, but also be right on the other 19 plays where the ball doesn’t necessarily come his way.

“You just see the growth from, ‘How do I make plays? Can I make this interception?’ To, ‘OK, let me understand where I need to align, where my eyes need to be, what’s my process to make sure that I’m right on every single snap?’”

Phillips believes he’s made a lot of progress since last season. He’s fully healthy and growing in his mastery of the Falcons’ defense. He took film study seriously last year while he was inactive, putting himself in the shoes of those on the field and trying to simulate things they would go through.

This summer, Phillips has emphasized consistency. He knows he’s made plays. He wants to lead by example in how to approach life as a professional each day. Football is a game of attrition, something Phillips learned last year, and longevity.

He’s trying to extend his stay in Atlanta, and he feels he’s put his best foot forward.

“Now that I’m in camp, I’ve been able to make some plays,” Phillips said, “and I feel good, man.”

Phillips and Hafley haven’t shared a field since they went their separate ways nearly seven years ago. That changes Friday night. Phillips is a different player, Hafley a different coach. Their ambitions and life situations are different.

One thing, however, remains the same: Little Hulk hasn’t shed his superstrength just yet.