Philips was ranked as a four-star recruit by ESPN and listed as the No. 31 recruit in California. He was recruited by Jimmie Dougherty, who was the receivers coach for UCLA at the time. He signed his National Letter of Intent on December 20, 2017,[4] becoming the first official signing for their new head coach, Chip Kelly.[4]
In 2021, he was named to the preseason watch list for the Paul Hornung Award, awarded to the most versatile player in the nation.[8] He also received preseason All-Pac-12 first-team honors. Philips had seven catches for 113 yards, including scores of 42 and 15 yards, in a loss to Fresno State.[9] The two touchdown catches tied his career high with the other occurring in 2019 against the Stanford Cardinal. At the game against Colorado on November 13, 2021, Philips caught a team-high eight passes and returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown, his second career punt return for a score.[10][11] For the season, he was named first-team All-Pac-12 as a receiver and garnered second-team honors as a return specialist. Philips led the conference with 10 receiving touchdowns and was second in receiving yards per game with 67.2.[12] He also averaged 22.6 yards per punt return, which led the conference among players with more than one return.[13]
After the season, Philips declared for the 2022 NFL draft. He ended his career ranked fourth in UCLA history with 163 career receptions.[13]
Philips was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round, 163rd overall, in the 2022 NFL draft.[16] In the 2022 season opener against the New York Giants, he led all Titans receivers with six receptions for 66 yards. He also had a 46-yard punt return to set up Tennessee's first touchdown. However, he also lost a fumble on a return.[17] In Week 2, he lost another fumble on a punt return against the Buffalo Bills.[18] Philips later suffered a hamstring injury in practice and was placed on injured reserve on October 25, 2022.[19]
On August 31, 2023, Phillips was placed on injured reserve. [20] He was activated on October 7 2023. He was released on August 27, 2024 with injury designation.[21]