Pac-12 standout defensive tackle Harrison Phillips is hoping to improve his NFL Draft grade at the Reese's Senior Bowl this week.

And his backup plan? Moonlighting as a comedian on cable television.

Asked about his past college recruitment and what led him to Stanford, Phillips saw a window of opportunity to jab the SEC.

“Stanford, when I committed, was coming off a season where they were ranked fourth in the nation, Rose Bowl champions, Pac-12 champions,” Phillips said in a video for NFL Network. “I believe they had eight players drafted. They’re almost like a football factory, kind of like the SEC is, except they get you your diploma.”

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NFL Network host Charles Davis playfully cut Phillips off and mentioned his two degrees from the University of Tennessee.

"You know what I mean," Phillips backpedaled. "(Stanford) is the Ivy League of the West Coast. No one down there (in the SEC) recruited me. I wasn't good enough for that."

According to a USA Today study, graduation rate for bowl-bound players has increased in recent years. And several SEC teams, notably Mississippi State and South Carolina, ranked inside the Top 20 nationally in graduation rate.

Clemson and Alabama, who’ll play each other in the Sugar Bowl in one semifinal, had APRs of 980 out of 1,000, which ranked them among the top 20 out of teams qualified for bowls. Oklahoma was at 965 and Georgia 961. The Sooners and Bulldogs will play in the Rose Bowl with the winner getting a spot in the national championship game. Lapchick said Clemson graduated 85 percent of its football players, Alabama 84 percent, Oklahoma 72 percent and Georgia 53 percent. Clemson was tops among the four playoff teams in graduating black football players at 81 percent. Alabama was at 79 percent, Oklahoma 65 percent and Georgia 44 percent. Bowl teams Wake Forest, Central Florida, Mississippi State, Duke, Stanford, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Northwestern all graduated at least 93 percent of its football players and at least 81 percent of African-American players, the study found.

Phillips' statements were a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the SEC and its graduation rate isn't exactly the laughing stock he surmises.