When Josiah "JoJo" Phillips caught a 57-yard touchdown pass in the opener against Southern Illinois, a lot of people began predicting big things in 2024 for BYU 's redshirt freshman receiver from Lancaster, California, although the Cougars' receiving corps was as deep as it's been in quite some time.
That depth — most notably Darius Lassiter , Chase Roberts, Keelan Marion and Parker Kingston — has been outstanding and a big reason why BYU is 9-1 and No. 14 in the College Football Playoff rankings heading into Saturday's monumental Big 12 showdown at No. 21 Arizona State .
The success of the aforementioned has limited Phillips' reps, but the 6-foot-5, 205-pound all-around athlete has stayed patient, knowing his time will come. That could be at 1:30 p.m. MST Saturday in the Valley of the Sun, as a shootout could be in the making between two accomplished offenses.
"I'm kinda biding my time, just working to get better every day," Phillips said Wednesday. "I feel like I am progressing really well from last year. I have gotten bigger. My knowledge of the game is much deeper and better than it was last year. Learning the college game is coming along, learning how fast it is, and getting my playbook down."
Of course, Phillips was involved in one of the most memorable — and controversial, to some — plays of the season two weeks ago at the University of Utah. He was the BYU receiver who drew a defensive holding penalty on the Utes on fourth down that prolonged the Cougars' game-winning field goal drive.
Lost in that disputation was the fact that Phillips made two catches for 41 yards against the Utes, his best game since the opener.
"He really showed up on a big stage in that game. I thought he executed very well. The moment wasn't too big for him at all. He looked like he belonged," said BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. "He is going to be a really good player here. His ceiling is very high."
Phillips appeared in only three games last year, catching one pass that went for a 5-yard touchdown, which allowed him to call it a redshirt season. Through 10 games this year, he's caught seven passes for 134 yards and the TD vs. the Salukis.
"He really showed up on a big stage in that game. I thought he executed very well. The moment wasn't too big for him at all. He looked like he belonged. He is going to be a really good player here. His ceiling is very high."
"Every week he is getting better and better and better. He is tightening in on the playbook. He has the ability and skill. I have zero issues with him on that," said BYU receivers coach Fesi Sitake. "This playbook, there is some nuance to it, some complexity to it. Sometimes it is time and experience and different guys latch onto it a little bit quicker, a little bit slower. JoJo has been great. He is right on track."
Phillips' 19.1 yards per reception leads the team.
"I feel like he's going to have some incredible years ahead of him," Sitake said. "He is on a great trajectory right now. The moment is never too big. When his name is called, he goes and makes plays. I love everything about him."
Phillips said veterans such as Lassiter and Marion have taken him under their wing and showed him how to be committed to his craft every day. Lassiter said the "youngster" is the kind of player who thirsts for knowledge and improvement.
"Just to see JoJo from last year to this year, you can kinda see the growth in his game. The game is just slowing down for him. Last year he got thrown into a situation where he couldn't really get situated and get his feet warm," Lassister said. "A lot of things just kinda moved fast for him and now this year, he knows what to expect, just being around guys like Chase, me, Keelan and Kody (Epps), who have been here for a long time, he is just learning each week. He has all the ability in the world. Once he puts it all together, the sky is the limit for JoJo."
Phillips was an outstanding basketball and football player growing up in Southern California, and was his Pop Warner team's quarterback and then running back before he hit a growth spurt and got so lanky that coaches suggested he move out to receiver.
He started his prep career at Calabasas High, then transferred to Sierra Canyon for his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. He took his junior year off from football to concentrate more on basketball, but returned to the gridiron his senior year and had 586 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2022 for a team that was run-heavy out of the triple option.
"I don't feel like it set me back or anything. It was like riding a bike, getting back into it, because football is the thing I started playing first, before I started playing basketball," Phillips said. "So it was just felt natural to me, coming back."
Although he drew interest from the likes of Oregon , LSU , Michigan State and Colorado , Phillips wasn't highly recruited, perhaps because he missed his junior year, which many scouts believe is the most important of all for college prospects. In the end, that lack of interest probably benefitted BYU.
Roderick said BYU coaches were intrigued by Phillips' size — he's pushing 6-6 now — and athleticism.
"He is a super athlete. Since he got here, though, he has worked really hard at just learning the game and refining his technique," Roderick said. "He played in a high school offense that barely threw the ball at all. So he got here without much football knowledge.
"But he is a really hard worker, smart kid, does what he is asked to do. And he is really unselfish. He hasn't complained about how much he plays or how much he gets the ball," Roderick continued. "He just works every day, and now you are starting to see the fruits of that."
At Sierra Canyon, Phillips was basketball teammates all three years with Bronny James, although Phillips only played a couple of games his senior year because by then he had signed to play football for BYU and decided it was time to "shut it down and get ready for college football."
NBA superstar LeBron James occasionally made it to Sierra Canyon games, a frequent enough occurrence that Phillips said it was "natural and regular and not a big deal or anything like that."
Phillips said he and Bronny James, who went on to play for USC and was picked in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Lakers, are friends but don't really stay in touch.
"When he got drafted, I texted him to congratulate him, but we don't really talk or anything like that," Phillips said.
BYU receiver Jojo Phillips (13) celebrates a touchdown with teammate Darius Lassiter after Lassiter's scored against Oklahoma State in Provo at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. BYU won 38-35. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
