Cam Phillips: A Hokie Great On His Path To Forge His Own Legacy In Coaching

Blacksburg, Va- Nestled neatly at the back of Merryman Athletic Center in a conference room littered with Virginia Tech ACC championship plaques, sits former Virginia Tech wide receiver star, Cam Phillips.

Phillips, who is now Assistant Wide Receivers Coach at Tech, chose to attend his nearby powerhouse Virginia Tech in the Hokies' 2014 class; as a Hokie, the Hyattsville, MD, native topped the Tech record book with 236 receptions and over 3,000 yards.

While donning the Maroon and Orange, Phillips recalls former wide receiver coach Holmon Wiggins as his most significant influence, when Wiggins joined Justin Fuente, or as Phillips calls him "Fu," in the overhaul of the Tech staff in the Fall of 2015.

"He really helped me mature kind of off the field and on the field also. In taking that next step in the mental approach and understanding the importance of, you know every rep, and really being intentional with every practice."

After combing through some of his favorite Tech moments out loud, he finally landed on when he, Isaiah Ford, and Bucky Hodges all tallied over 100 yards in Virginia Tech's win over Pittsburgh in "Fu's" debut season. After expressing his love for Ford and Hodges, he quickly relayed how he wants to pour what he once learned into the crop of current wideouts he has as his pupils.

Phillips' NFL career was launched when the Buffalo Bills signed him off their practice squad just a few weeks onto their 2018 season. Following two games played, Phillips was reinstalled back into the Bills practice squad, to be then waived, and forced to move into the newly renovated XFL, where he kickstarted a starring role in the 2020 season, leading the league with 455 yards and nine touchdowns before the Coronavirus pandemic.

The DeMatha product then toured the Canadian Football League as a wideout for the Toronto Argonauts for three seasons before hanging up his boots in 2023.

"Honestly, I never really thought that I'd be a coach. My approach to the game was always a more mental approach," said Phillips. "You know, just work smarter, not harder, so pregame preparation, and just getting pre-snap reads, and paying attention to the opponent and understanding what I'm going up against, was always just sort of in my DNA. And you know, it came easy for me. So I thought that I could be good at it."

Head Coach Brent Pry inducted Phillips as Assistant Wide Receiver Coach in early April after the new retiree sent out resumes to schools thanks to the NCCA Job Portal. Yet, the words of his freshman-year receiver coach, Aaron Moorehead, that stuck with him the most.

"Go back to Tech. It's always good to, try to get back in where you played at."

"Cam is special. We're kind of 1A-1B right now we're Batman and Robin. However, you want to put it. We can speak in Bad Boys terms; we are Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, but we run this thing together, man, and he does a really good job of being able to relate to those guys," quotes assistant Head Coach and Head Wide Reciever Coach Fontel Mines.

"Sometimes I may be stuck in a meeting and he can go have an extra meeting with those guys. Sometimes he's here when I'm on the road recruiting, and he may be able to go work on stuff outside, so he's just another resource for those guys to get better and to work and to find ways to kind of hone in on his skills."

Current receiver Stephen Gosnell, who is enjoying a breakout year after an ACL tear last season, has really enjoyed the introduction of Phillips to the staff.

"To have the most productive receiver to ever come through here be here [as a coach]. He, you know, sets a higher standard for us. It's like, hey, you know, you wanna be good, this is what it looks like. And you know, all through the summer he's with us through workouts and stuff like that, he's really another receiver coach... He's done a great job.

As Cam stretches his legs after an early morning run, he emphasized his passion into moving up the ranks as a coach wherever he is.

"I'd like to be a head college football coach someday. I haven't thought about the professional route as much yet, but I enjoy the development stage that you get here at the collegiate level. You get to have a little more hands-on approach to those guys who are a little more receptive to the coaching and the teaching and the knowledge and just you as a resource; I really enjoy that part."