Cornerback may not be big in stature, but he brings a big desire to win
Andru Phillips hates to lose.
“It’s almost a sickness” for the New York Giants third-round pick, says Vince Marrow, associate head coach and NFL liaison at Kentucky, where Phillips starred at cornerback.
Marrow, who played two years of college basketball before turning his attention full-time to football and bouncing between NFL practice squads, the World League of American Football and the XFL after being a 1992 11th round (yes, 11th round) pick by the Buffalo Bills told a story to illustrate the point.
“We played ‘PIG’. You’ve probably heard of ‘knockout’ and PIG. We played that. And I used to beat Dru so bad. He can shoot the ball. But he didn’t realize that I can shoot the way I can shoot,” Marrow said. “And I’m telling you, when he lost to me, I’m telling you, like, something was like loose. He was really pissed. He was, like, mad at me for a couple days, man. I said, you know what? That trick will go a long way with this dude. That’s going to go a long way.”
Phillips is 5-foot-10¾, 190 pounds. He isn’t the biggest defensive back. Whether in the slot or on the outside, there will be times when he is matched up against receivers who are much more physically imposing.
Don’t expect the 22-year-old to be intimidated.
“I’m a competitive player. I want to win down there at that defensive position, whether that’s corner or slot,” Phillips said. “I bring a fire and versatility to the game and a different type of aggression I feel like every defense needs, but also at the same time, I bring that will to win. I want to come in here and help any way I can.”
Marrow said that Phillips, usually matched up against Kentucky best receiver during 1-on-1s in practice, hated to lose those reps.
“If he lost one, oh, man, his whole day, he going to try to get you back immediately,” Marrow said.
A couple of years ago, when they were teammates with the Wildcats, many of those reps came against current Giants’ slot receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
Phillips is looking forward to going mano-a-mano with Robinson again.
“We’ve been talking crap for so long, he even just called me. I can’t wait to go against a great player like him,” Phillips said. “He’s established himself in a way up there in New York, and being able to compete and just go win and get better each and every day against him. It’s going to be a great competition.
“We played one year at Kentucky. I was younger, though. He may have had the best of me back then, but I think it’s different for me now.”
Marrow isn’t surprised.
“Listen, man, he may be joking, but he ain’t joking,” Marrow said. “I’m telling you right now, that joker already went through his head and was like, hey, Giants drafted me, I’m going right at Wan’Dale.”
Giants’ GM Joe Schoen said that Phillips will begin his career working in the slot, but that like Cor’Dale Flott he possess inside/outside versatility.
“He’s sticky. In terms of coverage, he’s around the football a lot. And watching him down in the Senior Bowl on one-on-ones, he has a lot of traits and those are things we are going to work on. He’s in position, but he just has to finish a little bit better,” Schoen said. “But I really like the athlete, like the kid, look forward to him getting here. Told Wan’Dale, he’s got to be ready for practice because Dru said he was going to be locking him up. That will be good competition there.”
Kentucky co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Chris Collins said that Phillips is “ultra-competitive” and “worked his tail off to get to this point.”
Phillips knows the Senior Bowl raised his draft profile.
“The Senior Bowl, it’s probably one of the main reasons why I’m here right now in some sense,” he said. “But you know, shout-out to [Senior Bowl Director] Jim Nagy, that was something I wanted my whole life was to go to the Senior Bowl. When I got the op, I wasn’t going to take it for granted. I was able to show stuff I wasn’t able to show on film, just different type of coverages. I just want to go out there and compete and win, and I tried my hardest, so I know that helped me a lot.”
Collins agreed with the Giants’ assessment that Phillips should begin his career in the slot.
“He definitely can play inside,” Collins said. “He’s got great instincts. Tremendous tackler. He’s continued to work at his craft. I think he can also play, you know, out on the island as he grows in his career. He’s one of those guys that’ll find a way. I think he could possibly be able to move back to safety. But I think starting off, you know, he’s a guy that can, you know, (18:04) step in the slot and compete day one and then continue to grow from there.”
Phillips did not start a game during his first two seasons at Kentucky, then started just four in 2022. He was finally a full-time starter in 2023. In an age where the transfer portal gives players an opportunity to shop for a more favorable situation and to switch schools, Phillips stuck out his time with the Wildcats.
“A lot of times, this day and age, guys don’t want to come and compete,” Collins said. “He was able to fight through some adversity, and that shows a lot in terms of his character.”
Phillips also faced adversity when he was one of six Kentucky players charged with first-degree burglary in 2021. All six players were later cleared.
“There’s nothing there for him,” Schoen said. “You guys can read up on it but he was cleared and there was a lawsuit eventually after that. We’re good with all that.”
“A lot of people would have probably folded,” Marrow said. “Strong family, strong parents, and Dru is a high-character young man.
“Going to New York, you’re going to have a lot of things thrown at you, and I just think the way this kid is, this young man is off the field, who he is, that’s not going to bother him.”
One question about Phillips is regarding ball skills, since he never had an interception in 38 collegiate games, 16 of which were starts.
Collins believes Phillips will develop the ability to force turnovers.
“If you watch the tape you see he’s in good coverage, he’s got some plays where there was great ball placement and the only thing you can do is get it [the ball] off of him in terms of a PBU,” Collins said. “The opportunities weren’t there this past season for him to continue to elevate in that regard. But, he has the ability to do it and I think that will show up as he continues to go through his career.”
Phillips insists he has “really good” hands.
“In the grand scheme of everything, everybody knows I’m sticky. In coverage, I’m sticky. I’m going to get the ball off dudes. I’m going to do my job in the back end,” Phillips said. “It [the lack of interceptions] was asked, but at the same time, they understand who I am … I’m just trying to get the balls off guys. It was a question, but they understand it like I’m doing my job, I’m doing it at a very high level.”
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