After coaching at BYU for years under former head coach Bronco Mendenhall, Kelly Poppinga left his alma mater BYU in 2015 and followed Coach Mendenhall to Virginia where he coached from 2016-2021. During that time, Coach Poppinga recruited the Atlanta, Georgia area.
After a one-year stint at Boise State in 2022, Coach Poppinga returned to BYU when the Cougars hired new defensive coordinator Jay Hill. Coach Poppinga promised to continue recruiting Georgia as a BYU coach despite the nearly 1,600 miles between Provo and Atlanta. Because of the geographical limitations, Georgia is a state that BYU has rarely recruited. On Tuesday, Coach Poppinga delivered on his promise to recruit The Peach State when he extended an offer to North Cobb High School standout Phillip Gladney. We caught up with Gladney to discuss his BYU offer and recruitment.
Gladney tells Cougs Daily that he first got in touch with BYU in January. "I first met coach back in January," Phillip said. "He saw my film and he talked to me. [We] exchanged info and [he] said he’ll stay in touch texting me and stuff like that." On Tuesday, Coach Poppinga returned to Atlanta to watch Gladney do a workout. After exchanging with cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford, Coach Poppinga extended Gladney a scholarship. "[Coach Poppinga] gave me a call and let me know that I have a full-ride to BYU and he was fired up about it."
As mentioned above, recruiting the state of Georgia is new to BYU. It's also new for the Georgia prospects that are seeing the BYU logo at their schools for the first time. On what he knew about BYU before being recruited by the school, Gladney said, "I knew that BYU is a premier school as far as being in the Big 12 and academic wise. But as far as specifics not much."
It's still early in the process, but Gladney and Coach Poppinga have talked about getting him to Provo for a visit. "[Coach Poppinga] has talked to me about visiting real soon, and how he’s fired up for me to get over there."
In Gladney's case, the distance between Provo and Atlanta is one of the things makes this offer unique. "The most unique thing [about the BYU offer] is that it was the first offer that I got from personally working out for the coach in person, and that I have coaches across the country that notice my talents and what I can bring to their team."
Gladney picked up his first scholarship offer in January. Since then, he has received more than 10 competing offers from the likes of Boston College, USF, East Carolina, Charlotte, and UNLV among others. He tells Cougs Daily that he hears from Michigan, Charlotte, South Florida, and East Carolina the most.
Phillip, who is listed at 6'0, is a physical cornerback that makes opposing offenses work for every yard. He consistently blows up screen passes and is a force in the run game. When asked how he would describe his game to someone who has never seen him play, Gadney said, "I would describe myself as a versatile corner. I can not only cover and run with people but I can blow up a run or come after the quarterback if I need to." You can check out his junior film below.
Gladney plays in the highest classification of Georgia high school football: 7A. Georgia is one of the most talent-rich states for high school football recruiting. Gladney was part of a North Cobb team that won their region in 2022, and North Cobb is a program that has made it to the playoffs in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
As BYU prepares to play defense against the lethal offenses in the Big 12, adding prospects like Gladney would go a long way securing BYU's future in the defensive backfield.
More must-reads: