One-time College Teammates Enjoying Helping Each Other Grow as Giants

It’s not that frequently that two college teammates reunite on a pro team. But when it does happen, it’s always interesting to get perspectives on how each has grown.

Such is the case with New York Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson and cornerback Dru Phillips, two key players for Big Blue. Robinson and Phillips were college teammates at the University of Kentucky in 2021, a team that was one of two Lexington football squads to earn 10 wins in a season since 1978. 

Robinson, who often goes against Phillips in practice with the Giants, said he’s been impressed with the growth shown by his fellow UK alumnus.

"He's definitely come into his own, and I'm really, really excited to see how he plays this year," Robinson said earlier this week. 

"He gives me a handful of problems during camp. He's like a little pest, I'd say. But he's a really, really good football player, though."

Robinson came to Kentucky as a transfer out of Nebraska in time for Phillips's sophomore season. At the time, Phillips was primarily working on the scout team, denying daily matchups with the former Cornhusker and 2021 All-SEC Team nominee, an honor he shared with current Detroit Lions player and Alabama alumnus Jameson Williams. 

Together, they guided the UK to an 18th-place finish in the final AP poll, and Robinson donned a new blue helmet when the Giants came calling in the ensuing draft's second round.

The two were reunited when Phillips came to New York two years later. From the outset, Phillips wanted to make it clear to Robinson that he wasn't "the same player he was at Kentucky," and the latter seemed convinced, and then some.

"It was like, okay, this kid is really athletic [and I was] just really waiting to see what he can do once he actually gets his opportunities out there on the field,” Robinson said. 

“Obviously made the most of him and got him here, so I'm happy he's here, too," Robinson said. "We were definitely going back and forth ... It's definitely been great to go against him for the past two years."

The benefits of daily civil war in the secondary were apparent for Robinson: the third-longest tenured active Giants offensive man posted a career-best with 699 yards last season, second on the team behind top target Malik Nabers.

Phillips, meanwhile, produced four pressures and recorded 51 tackles (11 missed), and 31 stops while allowing an 82% completion rate on pass targets against him in last year’s rookie campaign.

This year, Phillips is expecting big things of himself.

“Last year, it was just really fast. I was young, but I feel like I’ve really learned the game, and it’s slowed down for me a lot, so I can make adjustments and calls on the field that I wouldn’t have made last year,” he said, adding that he’d taken his biggest leap in the mental game.

Phillips, who confessed that initially in college he wasn’t assigned to guard Robinson as much, also sees the growth in his one-time college teammate on top of what Robinson already did well in college.

“He’s really good on his releases and what he can bring to the table as a slot receiver because he can stretch the field and work down low, so I’ve been going against him for a while, but it’s good work. Every day he brings it, too,” he said.  

“He’s always had that burst and that quickness to him. He’s really taken his game up, but he’s still the same Wan’Dale.”

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.