When the first-team defense takes on the first-team offense during Utah’s fall camp practices, cornerback Clark Phillips III seeks out wide receiver Devaughn Vele.
And Vele, naturally, seeks out Phillips.
Vele has established himself as wide receiver No. 1 for the Utes, while Phillips is Utah’s No. 1 cornerback and is regarded as one of the top corners in the country.
It makes for some compelling matchups, intense competition and spirited verbal exchanges between the two.
More importantly, Vele and Phillips are making each other better. As the Utes like to say, iron sharpens iron.
“It’s amazing. You should see it in practice, every time we have ones-on-ones. We’re always calling each other out. We’re always the first ones to step up. That’s the kind of work I need,” Vele said.
“He’s an NFL-caliber corner. If I want to get to that next level, I need to go against somebody every day that’s going to bring that caliber of talent.”
Phillips, who already has lined up against some of the most talented wide receivers in college football during his career, said he enjoys going up against Utah’s receivers, particularly Vele, who caught 23 passes for 389 yards and a touchdown in 2021.
“You see guys like Devaughn Vele, he feels like Megatron now,” Phillips said, referring to former Detroit Lions great Calvin Johnson. “It’s a blessing to have that. We go at it every single day.”
Sometimes, Vele gets the best of Phillips; sometimes Phillips gets the best of Vele.
“I’m like, ‘Dang, I was right there. I was right upon you and you still caught it. What do I need to do?’” Phillips recalled. “I tell Devaughn I’ll get him next time.
“It goes back and forth. It’s fun and it’s friendly competition. Sometimes it gets crazy, but it’s always reeled back in with love. That’s when you know you’ve got a team.”
After practice, Vele and Phillips discuss their battles and talk about how they can improve.
“We’re always boosting each other up, but it’s also competitive,” Vele said. “Both of us hate losing to each other. As much as we love each other, I hate losing to him.
“At one of our practices, he got me the whole practice. It got to me so much that I was in the film room, studying him. It’s that competition we bring out in each other. He’s the same exact way. When I have good plays against him, he gets (upset). We still have all love but at the end of the day, it’s a competition. I’m not supposed to let him win; he’s not supposed to let me win. I love that chemistry we have with each other.”
Vele arrived on campus in 2019 as a freshman walk-on and played on the scout team, which faced Utah’s first-team defense at practices during the regular season.
Phillips reminds Vele of former Ute cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who was a two-time All-Pac-12 first-team selection and currently plays for the Chicago Bears.
“That made me so much better as a receiver, going against Jaylon every day. It boosted my game to the next level. It’s the same thing with Clark Phillips,” Vele said.
“Going against him every day, I feel like my game is getting exponentially better. I’m not settling on being complacent. All our corners are great, but playing against Clark, who has that stigma surrounding him already, it helps me with my game.”
Phillips has watched Vele’s progression the past couple of seasons. He’s noticed how much Vele has worked to hone his craft as a receiver.
“He’s really tried to refine the details. As a receiver, something that makes it tough to cover those guys is, someone that’s confident, someone that gets in and out of their breaks, and someone that’s not afraid to go up and get it,” Phillips said.
“He uses his hands well. That’s something that he’s gotten a lot better at. Mentally, just being confident. You can feel it and you can smell it on him. It’s fun lining up against him and I’m like, ‘He’s the dude and he knows he’s the dude.’”
For Vele, carrying the mantle of WR1 is something he takes seriously.
“It’s definitely a drive for me, understanding that people are looking to me as that wide receiver No. 1. We have a lot of talented guys in that room. It’s an honor that a lot of people are viewing me as that guy, the No. 1 target that we’re going to look for,” Vele said.
“Obviously, we have other playmakers that are going to be making big plays for us on Saturdays like (Solomon Enis) and (Jaylen Dixon) and Money (Parks) and all that, but I try not to let that mantle get to my head too much. I don’t want to be complacent and I also don’t want that to make me bigheaded. I still view myself as that guy that needs to keep on working, that walk-on that first came in, working on my craft, studying film and improving on what I did last year that I can carry on into this season. As much as I appreciate the wide receiver 1 label, it’s the same thing for me. It’s about getting better to help my team out.”
And Phillips is helping Vele reach his potential.