Matthew Phillips

Athlete Bio

Matthew's head coach at Brentwood High School describes him as a "Swiss Army Knife". He began playing youth football at the age of 8. His speed and passion for the game made him a natural QB and CB, but his real love has always been kicking. Matthew made his first extra point from 25 yards at the age of 11. Kicking extra points in youth football in Middle Tennessee was unheard of at the time, but pretty soon many other teams were trying and successfully kicking extra points.

Matthew continued kicking in middle school and as a freshman at Brentwood High School, where he also played QB, TB and CB. The highlight of his freshman year was a last second 37-yard field goal to send a game against rival Page High School to overtime. Matthew then made the tackle in OT to save the win and the championship.

When Matthew rose to his sophomore year, Brentwood High School already had an established kicker named Tucker Day one year ahead of him. Tucker and Matthew grew up playing soccer and hockey together and are good friends. Tucker was named Army All-American as a senior and was awarded a scholarship by Mississippi State.

Matthew did not want to wait his turn on the sideline while Tucker handled kicking duties, and neither did the Brentwood coaching staff. Matthew started at CB as a sophomore on a team that made the second round of the Tennessee 7 5A playoffs. As a junior, Matthew was selected All-Region 7 5A at cornerback and also played tailback, rushing for 388 yards on 85 carries. His best game was a 32 carry, 182 yard, 4 TD effort against conference rival Dickson County in a game that propelled Brentwood to the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the state semifinals. Matthew also returned punts and caught 9 passes for 57 yards and 1 TD as a junior.

Matthew finally got his turn as a combo kicker in 2017. Matthew responded by being named Kicker of the Year in Tennessee Region 6 6A. He made 8 of 12 field goals with a long of 45 yards. He was 44 of 46 on extra points. His only two misses were blocked. Matthew averaged touchbacks on over 75% of his kickoffs, many of which sailed beyond the end zone. He punted 29 times for an average of 37.86 yards per punt. Seven punts were downed inside the 20. His long punt for the year was 58 yards. The coaching staff asked Matthew to continue playing on the field during his senior year, and Matthew agreed. By then, Matthew was a solid 5'11" 183 pounder. Head coach Ron Crawford, who also coached defensive backs, moved Matthew to strong safety, where Matthew called the defense. Matthew finished third on the team in tackles with 20 solo tackles, 24 assists, and 1 interception. He also returned punts for a second year.

Matthew's dedication and leadership were recognized at the Brentwood team banquet on December 3, 2017 when he was elected one of four captains. His commitment to community service and academics was recognized when he was named one of four recipients of the Bruin Excellence Award. The award has been presented for 23 years by the Bruin 12th Man Club to seniors who have completed 100 or more hours of community service while maintaining a 3.5 or better GPA during each semester of high school.

Matthew was a member of the varsity hockey team for three years, where he was a goalie on Brentwood's 2015 state championship team. Matthew started running track when he was 9 and qualified in the long jump for the AAU Junior Olympics in 2010 and 2011. He finished 15th in the country both times. He continued to run track until taking off in 2017 to participate in Spring Football. While on the Brentwood varsity track team, Matthew competed on the first team in the 4x100 relay, the 4x200 relay, the 200 yard dash, and the long jump. The football staff officially timed Matthew in the 40 in June of 2016 at 4.46. Matthew will hang up his skates and his spikes between now and the time he graduates and concentrate on preparing himself for his career as a college kicker. He currently has full offers from Austin Peay, Indiana State, and Army and was recently offered by Western Kentucky as a preferred walk-on.

Awards & Honors

• National Honor Society
• 2016 First Team All-Region Tennessee Region 7-5A (cornerback)
• 2017 Tennessee Region 6 6A Kicker of the Year
• Elected Team Captain 2017
• Bruin Excellence Award (awarded to Seniors completeing 100 or more hours of community service while maintaining a 3.5 GPA or better for each semester of high school; awarded to 4 Seniors in 2017

Academics

• GPA: 3.92
• ACT: 27