After tough draft day, Phillips ready to excel
JACKSONVILLE — Leading up to Friday’s opening practice of the Jaguars’ rookie camp, undrafted free-agent Carroll Phillips worked out three times a day for the past month, which included running three to four miles, weight lifting and agility drills.
It wasn’t a requirement issued by the Jaguars; Phillips did it on his own. He is not only eager to make an impact as an outside linebacker/defensive end that could lead to making the Jaguars’ 53-man roster, he is set on proving that he should have been drafted instead of passed over.
Whatever it takes, Phillips appears to be driven, confident and experienced at overcoming obstacles. The Jaguars are obviously hoping he can emerge into a versatile defensive player.
“Draft day was real tough for me,’’ said Phillips, who is from Miami. “I thought I was going to be drafted, but I wasn’t. So I’m going to make every team that passed on me pay. But I thank the Jacksonville Jaguars for giving me an opportunity to prove myself to the NFL.’’
He had no trouble proving himself last season as a senior at Illinois. Phillips, an All-Big Ten selection, ranked second in the nation in Division I with 19 solo tackles for losses. Although Illinois surrendered 31.9 points a game, Phillips’ 20 total tackle for losses tied for the fifth most in school history.
Initially, Phillips was projected to be picked between the second and sixth rounds of the April 27-29 draft. Dane Brugler, an analyst for NBADraftScout.com, ranked Carroll 18th among edge rushers. And at the NFL draft combine, Carroll’s 20-yard split of 2.53 seconds was the best among pass rushers.
“He’s got rare, physical gifts,’’ said Mike Mayock, the NFL Network’s lead analyst.
“A lot of his sack production came [via] run-andchase. I think he’s got to be a 3-4 outside linebacker. He’s not big enough or strong enough to stand up in the running game. I think Phillips can’t be a 4-3 defensive end.’’
The Jaguars obviously think Phillips can be a 4-3 end type because they listed him as such on their roster .
The NFL.com’s pre-draft scouting report on Phillips said his current pass rush approach won’t cut it on the NFL level and it cited an unnamed AFC scout who predicted that his college teammate, Dawuane Smoot, whom the Jaguars selected in the third round, is more skilled and will probably be a better pro, though Phillips had a better season in 2016.
Illinois defensive line coach Mike Phair said Carroll’s specialty is pass-rushing and he won’t have a problem doing that on the NFL level.
“The No. 1 thing I say about him is his quickness and speed coming off the edge, that’s what really jumps out,’’ Phair said by telephone on Thursday.
“When I first got to Illinois, he was playing linebacker, so he’s a multiple guy. I pretty much kept Carroll on the right end spot to use his speed. Smoot is a little different, he’s bigger than Carroll and I could move him around inside on some of our third down and pass rush stuff. He’s got really good flexibility in his lower body and understands the game.’’
As a senior in 2016, Smoot was the team captain and had 56 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and five sacks, that led to making third-team All-Big Ten.
Carroll said it’s good to be reunited with Smoot as a teammate with Jaguars. He said they were close, even tagged themselves with “thunder and lightning” as a nickname although Carroll said his nickname since playing youth league football is the “Wild Man” because of the way he gets after quarterbacks.