Kentucky's zone-heavy scheme got Andru Phillips ready for NFL Draft opportunity

Kentucky cornerback Andru Phillips surprised some when the redshirt junior decided to enter the 2024 NFL Draft after four seasons in Lexington. The former three-star recruit out of Mauldin (S.C.) High emerged as a starting nickel cornerback in 2022 before becoming a starting outside cornerback in 2023. During the pre-draft process, Phillips has become a huge riser.

The defensive back with over 1,100 career snaps played at Kentucky balled out at the Senior Bowl and is now seen as one of the top slot cornerbacks in this draft. Day 2 buzz is building for Phillips after logging 82 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and three tackles for loss during his collegiate career.

When speaking to the media at the Indiana Convention Center at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday, Andru Phillips stated that Kentucky’s zone-heavy scheme under defensive coordinator Brad White helped him get ready for this pro football job interview.

“You can say soft zone, but it’s a difficult zone as well. It’s not just one zone. We run everything to a very high level. It may look like something, but it’s really not,” Phillips told reporters. “Coming from that to the NFL, and how technical and difficult that scheme was, it’s going to translate very well.”

Kentucky’s defense is facing some criticism after a season where the White’s unit finished No. 69 in yards per attempt, No. 123 in passing success rate, and No. 127 in completion percentage allowed. Many want to see the Wildcats play more aggressive on the outside, but Phillips believes this defensive philosophy got him ready for the National Football League.

“It’s harder than some teams where you just go out and play man We’re really a 3-4 zone team playing top down,” said Phillips. “You gotta learn a lot more different type of calls.”

The defensive back has had formal meetings with the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Eagles just hired defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to run his famous two-deep zone coverage schemes that excel at taking away explosives. The 49ers have used a Cover 3 heavy structure under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Each seems like a good fit for Phillips after playing a ton of zone at Kentucky.

When pulling players that Phillips believes are a comp, the Kentucky product often goes to nickel defenders that play a physical brand of football. Kenny Moore (Indianapolis Colts) and Trent McDuffie (Kansas City Chiefs) were two names the cornerback dropped on Thursday in Indy. Phillips can give a defense some positional versatility similar to these two NFL stars but is best suited playing inside.

Experience in a zone-heavy college defense that hangs its hat on big-play prevention has prepared Andru Phillips well for a league that has a lot of defensive structures similar to what White uses at Kentucky.