The preseason hype around Jordan Phillips continued this week after Bruce Feldman included the star Maryland defensive lineman in his 20th edition of the Freaks List on Tuesday, which ranked the top 101 players in college football by their athleticism and measurables.
Phillips was ranked as the 17th-highest-ranked defensive lineman and 51st overall on Feldman’s list.
Mike Locksley didn’t have to think too long when asked about Maryland’s biggest freak: It’s the 6-3, 320-pound sophomore who began his career at Tennessee.
“This kid is a manchild,” Locksley said. “He’s explosive. He’s (former Alabama star-turned-first rounder who was No. 11 on the 2016 Freaks List) Daron Payne. He’s a nose tackle, but he’s light and so twitchy.”
Phillips, a former standout wrestler and weight lifter in high school, started 10 games last year for the Terps, making 28 tackles and 1.5 TFLs. He has squatted 665 pounds, power cleaned 365 and did an overhead press of 365 pounds for two reps.
Phillips has turned heads all offseason with his unmatched work ethic, drawing feedback as a constant inside Jones-Hill House whether it’s in the weight room or on the field.
“As a defense, we started doing ‘one percent’ after practice and JP last season, him and a couple of guys were getting in work and now it’s everybody out there. JP set the standard for us,” linebacker Caleb Wheatland said after the first full-padded practice of fall camp.
Phillips will anchor arguably Maryland’s most talented defensive line of the Mike Locksley era with Quashon Fuller, Tommy Akingbesote and Taizse Johnson leading the way into 2024. While Brian Williams noted that Phillips “has commanded the full respect of the locker room and staff” heading into his second season with the program, it took a bit longer than expected to get him into the program.
Despite his three-star ranking as a prospect out of Ocoee (FL), Phillips was a top target for Maryland as the Terps battled Tennessee and the in-state schools before opting for the Vols. After playing in just three games as a freshman, Maryland pounced on Phillips again after the Florida native elected to hit the transfer portal in search of a bigger role. And in College Park, Phillips found exactly that.
Phillips was one of three players who represented the program at Big Ten Media Days last week as head coach Mike Locksley pointed to his “relentless work ethic” after starting in ten games and playing in all 13 in 2023.
“There’s not a guy in the country that I think will outwork Jordan Phillips and you’ll see the passion he has for the game,” Locksley said at Big Ten Media Days.
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