Falcons Teammates, Ex Rivals: Clark Phillips, Drake London on College Battle

Atlanta Falcons standout wide receiver Drake London and rookie cornerback Clark Philips III reflected on their college matchup and what practices are like now as teammates.

The Atlanta Falcons are an up-and-coming NFL team that has the potential to crack the playoffs this season, but their roster got to this point by being battle-tested early on in their careers. 

A pair of Falcons players that stood out in college managed to do so while facing off against one another. 

Back in 2021, USC's gargantuan 6-5 wide receiver Drake London [Atlanta's No. 8 pick in 2022] and an undersized 5-9 Utah cornerback Clark Philips III [Falcons' 2023 fourth round selection] faced off. However, both left the field impressed with one another.

"It was a competitive matchup - really competitive matchup," Phillips said. "I'm glad that I'm here right now - we get to continue to work together and go against each other and keep on competing."

"He's a great guy," London said. "He's competitive as hell. But I'm happy he's on the team and to do more work with him - iron sharpens iron."

In their matchup, both players would shine at times, London put up big yardage and catch totals, but Philips prevented any big plays or touchdowns while breaking up passes.

"Obviously, we had our battles, we had our matchup - not going to go into that, we're past all that," London joked.

While the two may be past their college rivalry, as London said, "iron sharpens iron." The competition that these two put up against one another in practice could go a long way toward making the Falcons a playoff team this season.

Practicing against London will allow Philips to be more prepared for matchups this season against big receivers such as Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Evans, just as facing a small corner like Philips should help London be more comfortable against Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander.

If the two impact each of their respective sides of the ball, this could be a special season for Atlanta, setting the Falcons up to dominate the NFC South for the foreseeable future.

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