Lawrence Phillips
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| Lawrence Phillips | |
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| Date of birth: | May 12, 1975 |
| Place of birth: | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | Running Back |
| Jersey №: | 1, 11, 21, 33 |
| College: | Nebraska |
| NFL Draft: | 1996 / Round: 1/ Pick 6 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1996-1997 1997 1999 1999 2002 2003 |
St. Louis Rams Miami Dolphins Barcelona Dragons (NFLE) San Francisco 49ers Montreal Alouettes (CFL) Calgary Stampeders (CFL) Carolina Panthers |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Lawrence Diamond Phillips (born May 12, 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas), is a former star running back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, a former professional American football and Canadian football running back who has had numerous conflicts with law enforcement. Phillips trouble with the law and inability to produce in the NFL have led many critics to label him as a bust[1]. He attended Baldwin Park High School in Baldwin Park, CA.
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[edit] College career
When recruited by the University of Nebraska, Phillips was living in a foster home in southern California. At Nebraska, Phillips demonstrated his outstanding athletic ability on the field and began his string of troubling mishaps with the law. In 1993, his freshman year at Nebraska, Phillips excited the coaching staff, teammates, and fans with his blend of speed and power. In the 1994 Orange Bowl game (at the end of the 1993 regular season) against Florida State, Phillips rushed 13 times for 64 of the Huskers 183 rushing yards against a staunch Seminole defense. All but one of Phillips's carries came in the fourth quarter, and he also scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. The game established him as the main running back in the Nebraska offense.
By his sophomore year, Phillips was the focal point of the offense as Tommie Frazier went down early in the season with a leg injury. After back-up quarterback Brook Berringer was injured, the quarterback position was turned over to 3rd string, walk-on player Matt Turman. With Turman under center, the Nebraska offense was simplified with Lawrence Phillips as the main focus. Phillips tied a school record by rushing for 100 yards or more in 11 straight games in 1994 despite frequently playing against eight- or nine-man defensive fronts. Phillips further endeared himself to teammates by playing through a painful thumb injury that effectively left him with one hand. Phillips's performance in the Orange Bowl was key to Nebraska's securing its undefeated season and national championship in 1994. Against the Miami Hurricanes, who had the top-rated defense in college football that year (with future NFL Pro Bowlers Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis), Phillips had 96 yards on 19 carries, including one 25-yard run that was the longest rushing play the Hurricanes had allowed all season. During the regular season, Phillips ran for 1,722 yards, still a Nebraska record for a sophomore.
The following year, Phillips was poised to lead the Huskers to a repeat championship and challenge for the Heisman Trophy. During the Huskers' win over Michigan State in their second game of the season, Phillips had 206 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on 22 carries. After two games on the season, he was averaging more than 10 yards per carry. He then made a mistake that would haunt him and his coach for years to come. Late at night when the team returned from East Lansing, Michigan, Phillips went looking for his ex-girlfriend, Kate McEwen, a basketball player for the Nebraska women's team. He found her in the apartment of another football player, Scott Frost. Frost had transferred from Stanford the year before, and was sitting out the 1995 season. Phillips found McEwen and assaulted her by dragging her down a stairwell by her hair and by her shirt. Frost was eventually able to intervene, but not before Phillips had caused significant harm to McEwen. Phillips was subsequently suspended from the Husker football team by Head Coach Tom Osborne. Many in the Lincoln community and national media felt that Osborne was coddling a star player by not kicking Phillips off the team permanently. It was reported that Osborne felt that despite the pressure his decision was appropriate, because Phillips would be better off in the structure and support system of the football program than on his own. Osborne reinstated Phillips for the Iowa State game, although touted freshman Ahman Green continued to start. Phillips also contributed against Kansas and Oklahoma, but he had gained weight, become physically out of shape, and appeared rusty (although he was starting to show flashes against the Sooners, particularly on one 25-yard run off a direct-snap play).
By the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, Phillips had regained his stride and looked to prove to NFL teams that he was a high first round pick. Osborne, despite pressure from the national media, named Phillips the starter. On the Huskers' first drive, Phillips caught a swing pass from Tommie Frazier and took it for a 16-yard touchdown, leaping into the endzone. Later in the first half, he had a particularly spectacular 42-yard touchdown run, overpowering and outracing several University of Florida defenders to the endzone. Phillips had 102 rushing yards on 10 carries by halftime and finished the game with 165 yards rushing, two rushing touchdowns and the aforementioned touchdown reception.
[edit] Professional Football Career
With his strong performance, Phillips was drafted sixth overall in the 1996 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams despite his considerable character issues (indeed, several teams with higher picks openly said they passed on him because of his off-the-field troubles). Phillips played the 1996 and part of the 1997 seasons with the Rams before refusing to show for a team meeting and practice in a dispute with coach Dick Vermeil over playing time and being cut (a teary-eyed Vermeil at the time called Phillips potentially the best running back he had ever coached). The Rams cut Phillips in November 1997. Phillips then moved on to the Miami Dolphins for two games before being cut again after running for only 44 yards on 18 carries for a 2.4 yard-per-carry average. During this time, Phillips also pleaded no contest to assaulting a woman in a nightclub.
Phillips missed the 1998 season before attempting a comeback in 1999; he set NFL Europe offensive records with the Barcelona Dragons (1021 yards and 14 TDs) before returning stateside with the San Francisco 49ers, but was unable to complete the entire season. Moreover, during his time with the 49ers, Phillips was known for missing a crucial block on all-pro cornerback Aeneas Williams who proceeded to knock out Steve Young during a Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals. This injury would lead to the end of Young's career. In the same game, Phillips for a moment flashed his old skills, darting for a 74-yard touchdown to put the game away 24-10, outrunning Aeneas Williams to the end zone. In 2001, Phillips signed with the Florida Bobcats of the Arena Football League but was fired after leaving the team without telling his coach.
Phillips then moved on to the Canadian Football League, helping the Montreal Alouettes (1022 yards and 13 TDs) win the 2002 Grey Cup. Cut in training camp for insubordination by Montreal in 2003, Phillips signed with the Calgary Stampeders (rushing for 486 yards on 107 carries and 1 TD), but was again released for arguing with his coach.
[edit] Troubled Life After Professional Football
On August 21, 2005, Phillips was arrested for assault after allegedly driving a car into three teenagers, following a dispute with the teens during a pick-up football game in Los Angeles, California. At the time of the arrest, Phillips was wanted by San Diego in connection with two alleged domestic abuse incidents involving a former girlfriend, who claimed that Phillips choked her to the point of unconsciousness during one of the incidents. In addition, Los Angeles police were seeking Phillips in connection with yet another, separate domestic abuse allegation that occurred previously in Los Angeles.
In March, 2006, the Associated Press reported that Phillips had been ordered to stand trial on felony assault charges stemming from the August 21, 2005 incident. The assigned judge dismissed two counts of child abuse and one count of leaving the scene of an accident arising from the same incident.
On October 10, 2006, Phillips was found guilty of seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He faces up to 20 years in state prison. His next court appearance for sentencing is set for Nov. 16, 2007, if the state Supreme Court hands down a ruling before that date that could affect the maximum sentence. Following the sentencing, Phillips is expected to stand trial in San Diego on auto theft charges related to the 2005 case.
[edit] What others say
- Dick Vermeil was one of Phillips' supporters and even called him "potentially the greatest running back I (he) ever coached".
- Former University of Miami alum and current Baltimore Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis listed Phillips as his toughest competition.
- Former University of Nebraska lineman and fellow bust Trev Alberts called Phillips the "loneliest player I have ever met."
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- ESPN.com article (August 22, 2005) - Phillips arrested; also wanted for domestic violence
- KFFL (fantasy football league news) Retired Player Lawrence Phillips
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