DE Phillips has eye on turnover chain, Louisville
The turnover chain’s 2020 debut, the bright lights of a prime-time battle with No. 18 Louisville, an opportunity for his first sack — those are all tantalizing prospects for an elite talent like Hurricanes defensive end Jaelan Phillips.
Phillips, who noted there was “a little reveal” of the turnover chain in a “little ceremony” organized by coach Manny Diaz the night before the Canes defeated Alabama-Birmingham in Thursday’s opener, said the defense’s goal “is always to get that turnover chain every game.”
“That’s why we’re Miami,” Phillips said Tuesday in a Zoom session. “It was kind of disappointing that we didn’t get it last week; had a couple opportunities. We’re hoping to break it out this week.”
Before Thursday’s win, Phillips — the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit for UCLA coming out of high school in 2017 — had not played in a football game since Sept. 28, 2018 because of significant injuries, some of which stemmed from a January 2018 accident in which he was hit by a car while on his scooter.
SURREAL DEBUT
“Running through the smoke at Hard Rock was surreal, something like I’ve never experienced,” said the 6-5, 270-pound redshirt junior who played last week opposite equally prolific Temple graduate transfer Quincy Roche and whose defense held UAB to 80 yards rushing and 205 yards passing.
As 17th-ranked Miami (1-0) prepares for its first of 10 consecutive games against Atlantic Coast Conference competition Saturday night (ABC) at Louisville (1-0), Phillips is hoping for more “surreal” experiences.
Judging by the pedigree of Phillips and Roche
(2019 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, with 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks), the Canes’ front line should be in good shape this season — even if Roche (four tackles) garnered the lone UM sack against UAB.
Phillips recorded two tackles, shared a tackle for loss, had two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry.
PRIME TIME DOGS
“For us as a program it would be an opportunity to showcase our abilities in prime time,” Phillips acknowledged Tuesday of the Louisville game. “Coming off last season we’re the underdogs. I know we’re not supposed to read into it too much, but I saw the over is over two scores and we’re like the 80-percent underdogs or something like that.”
UM is a 21⁄2-point underdog Saturday.
Canes coaches know that the disruption Phillips and Roche caused against UAB will likely only intensify as they get back into playing mode. Louisville, which defeated Western Kentucky 35-21 at home on Saturday, presents a top quarterback in dual-threat junior Micale Cunningham. Cunningham accounted for four touchdowns and passed for a career-high 343 yards and three touchdowns against the Hilltoppers. He also rushed for a touchdown.
“Having a dynamic quarterback definitely puts you on edge and makes you respect the quarterback run a little bit more,” Phillips said.
PRESSURES AND HITS
Canes defensive coordinator Blake Baker said Phillips and Roche were “outstanding’’ in the opener against the Blazers, citing “10 quarterback hits and 16 pressures,” and their finesse “especially vs. the run.”
Diaz explained earlier in the week when reviewing the UAB game, that “UAB was not going to drop back and throw the football.”
“They were going to run it [and] there was going to be play-action, quick passes in the flats. There were a couple times we saw if we just used our technique a little bit better in some of our coverages, [that if] the quarterback [held] the ball for maybe a half second longer he was about to get hit in the back.
“It’s about being relentless, its about staying after it. The sacks generally tend to come as that happens.”
Hurricanes starting middle linebacker Bradley Jennings Jr. said Tuesday that the defensive line’s aggressiveness “helped the linebackers play a lot faster and read better.”
“They were flying off the ball, keeping the 0-linemen off me and letting us run and make plays.”
THEN AND NOW
That September 2018 game as a true sophomore at UCLA was stellar for Phillips (seven tackles), but terrible for his former Bruins, who had lost their fourth consecutive game of the season that year at Colorado.
Phillips transferred to UM and began working out last fall at 225 pounds, but has since become a physical “freak of nature,” said former UM star end Greg Rousseau, who opted out this season and will enter the 2021 NFL Draft.
“I think one of the most impressive things about him is his just crazy relentless pursuit to the ball,” weakside starting linebacker Zach McCloud said of Phillips last week. “His every play, every scrimmage after the whistle blows, he’s still sprinting, getting the last little burst in. It’s crazy to see somebody that big just be able to be that consistent all throughout practice, all throughout the game.
“His effort is something else.”