Jordan Phillips' star not quite as bright as Trey Metoyer's, but you can see it
Published: 4/16/2012 7:58 AM
Last Modified: 4/16/2012 7:58 AM
About halfway through Oklahoma's spring season, right guard Tyler Evans was asked to name a standout across the ball from him.
"Jordan Phillips," he answered, "is doing awesome."
Bob Stoops had said much the same thing about the redshirt freshman defensive tackle. Stoops has been glowing about Phillips since last fall, when he informed everyone the kid could do a standing backflip.
Finally, we got a chance to see what the fuss was all about for ourselves at Saturday's Red-White Game.
Phillips started on the first-team defense alongside senior Jamarkus McFarland. Even with Stacy McGee and Casey Walker held out with injuries, that in itself was a sign.
There came another midway through the second quarter, when Phillips sacked Blake Bell. And then another late in the third, when Phillips waited for Roy Finch on a third-and-1 handoff, then dropped him for a 3-yard loss.
Plays like those from OU defensive tackles have been few and far between since Gerald McCoy left Norman three years ago. McFarland, McGee and Walker have all been solid since, but that's about it.
You get the feeling Phillips, at 6-6 and 329 pounds, could be so much more than solid. Left guard Gabe Ikard has even likened him to McCoy this spring.
"I'm ecstatic about the young guy and what his potential can be in there," Stoops gushed after the Red-White Game.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
