BREAKING: Top 10 CB Kade Phillips flips from Texas to LSU
LSU has pulled off one of the biggest flips of the 2025 recruiting cycle by landing a commitment from 4-star defensive back Kade Phillips just a little more than one month after he committed to Texas.
Phillips, On3’s No. 7 cornerback prospect, originally committed to the Longhorns on July 6, but the decision wasn’t a runaway victory for Texas.
As The Bengal Tiger staff reported over the past month, LSU coaches – in a push led by secondary coach Corey Raymond and defensive coordinator Blake Baker – stayed in constant contact with Phillips and his family.
Now, LSU has pulled off the flip, getting the Lone Star State native to join a 2025 recruiting class in Baton Rouge thathas commitments in from a pair of On3 Top 10 cornerback prospects in Phillips and 5-star+ defensive back DJ Pickett, who is ranked by On3 as the No. 1 cornerback in the country.
It’s an impressive haul for Raymond, who returned to LSU’s staff in January after spending a decade coaching in the secondary for the Tigers prior to Brian Kelly’s arrival as head coach.
After two seasons at Florida, Raymond was hired back to LSU’s staff and tasked with rebuilding the secondary. And the hire has yielded immediate results in the 2025 class with the additions of two of America’s best cornerbacks – both of whom made On3’s “Future Freaks” list for prospects with the highest athletic upside in the 2025 class.
“Corey Raymond is a great coach and he continued to show me love while I was at the (official) visit,” Phillips told The Bengal Tiger staff. “(They showed) the consistent reminder about how much they want me and how I’m one of their top DB (targets), and they just kept it real.
“Really, the coaches and everybody on their staff and the feel I get from there … The people and staff at LSU make it one of the top schools.”
With Pickett and Phillips on board, two of Raymond’s top targets this cycle are now committed to the Tigers ahead of their senior seasons this fall.
Phillips, a rising senior at Hightower High in Missouri City (Texas), is ranked by On3 as the No. 7 cornerback prospect and No. 65 overall prospect in the country, regardless of position.
After pulling off the flip, LSU moved even closer to the No. 1 recruiting class on the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. LSU checks in with a 93.231 class score, while Alabama sits at 93.310. No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Alabama join the Tigers as the lone teams in college football to have eclipsed a 2025 recruiting class score above 93.
