Jeremiah Phillips approached his Liberty County High School football coaches after the season about what he needed to do to play in college.

With a strong showing at a camp, Phillips signed a letter of intent Monday with Erskine College.

“I had a dream of playing at the next level,” Phillips said, “and now I’m going to be there.”

Head coach Tony Glazer called Phillips, a 6-foot-3, 223-pound defensive end, a great student-athlete.

“He turned into a great young man,” Glazer said. “You can see he’s got a collegiate mindset in how he works. I believe his best football is ahead of him. He’s really come a long way from when he first came out there with us.”

Phillips said his signing took him back to being 7 years old, playing ball outside with his dad, as his mom signed up for recreation department football. “I want to thank my coaches for pushing me to be the best player,” he said.

He also thanked his teammates for being behind him when he thought about no longer playing.

“They brought my spark back when I was almost read to give up on playing football,” he said.