Kenny Phillips

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Kenny Phillips
New York Giants — No. 21
Safety
Date of birth: November 24, 1986 (1986-11-24) (age 21)
Place of birth: Miami, Florida
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
National Football League debut
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
College: Miami (FL)
NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 31
 Teams:
Current status: Active
Career highlights and awards
  • No notable achievements

Kenneth Phillips (born November 24, 1986 in Miami, Florida) is a safety for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He played collegiately at the University of Miami until after the 2007 season when he declared himself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft. He was the first college football underclassman to declare himself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft. [1]

Contents

[edit] High school career

Phillips attended Miami Carol City High School in Miami, Florida where he played safety. As a senior in 2004, played free safety and finished with 84 tackles, six interceptions, three fumble recoveries, four defensive touchdowns and three punt returns for touchdowns. Phillips intercepted 16 passes during his high school career. He also played in the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

In 2004, Phillips was the nation's top safety prospect and USA Today Defensive Player of the Year. Phillips was a Parade All-American and was selected to the PrepStar Top 100 Dream Team. He was rated the nation's No. 1 safety prospect by leading college recruiting magazines Rivals and Scout and the No. 12 and No. 10 overall prospect by Rivals and Scout respectively. He was considered the No. 1 prospect in Dade County by The Miami Herald and the No. 1 prospect in the state by the Orlando Sentinel.

[edit] College career

Phillips ultimately chose to attend the University of Miami over Tennessee, Florida State and North Carolina State.

In his freshman and year, Phillips was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team after starting 11 games at free safety. He ranked third on the team with 93 tackles (58 solo), recovered two fumbles, broke up four passes and recorded six interceptions. One of Phillips' interceptions came against the Clemson Tigers in triple overtime and sealed the win for the Hurricanes.[2]

As a sophomore, Phillips was named to the All-ACC 1st Team and 2nd team All-American by Rivals.com. He started 10 games out of 10 at strong safety, missing only three games due to a torn ACL. He ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 71 total, broke up 6 passes, and recorded 7 interceptions. Phillips earned "ACC Defensive Back of the Week" honors for his play against Duke in which he tied a University of Miami record with three interceptions in one game. [3]

Phillips was also named to the 2006 All-ACC Academic Football Team. [4]

As a junior, Phillips was named to the All-ACC 1st Team for a second straight year, and 2nd team All-American for a second straight year.[5] He started 12 games out of 12 at safety. Phillips ranked second on the team with a career high, 105 tackles(69 solo), made 6.5 tackles for loss, forced three fumbles, broke up 5 passes and intercepted 2 passes.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] New York Giants

Kenny Phillips was drafted in the first round, 31st overall by the New York Giants, the last pick in the first round.[6][7] This made it fourteen straight drafts with a Miami Hurricane selected in round 1. Phillips is expected to compete for the vacant free safety position left by former Giants free safety Gibril Wilson, who left for free agency to the Oakland Raiders in the 2008 off-season. Phillips stated his goals with the Giants in his first season are to "come in, learn and try to make a statement."[8] Entering mini-camp, Phillips has chose to wear the number 21 as a tribute to the late Sean Taylor who also played football at the University of Miami and wore the number 21 when he played with the Washington Redskins.[9] [10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/college/hurricanes/sfl-1207phillips,0,1137502.story?coll=sofla_sports_college_hurricanes_util
  2. ^ Rivals.com College Football - Phillips seals Miami's first win
  3. ^ Kenny Phillips Named ACC Defensive Back of the Week :: Kenny Phillips tied a school record with three interceptions against Duke this past weekend
  4. ^ 2006 All-ACC Academic Football Team Announced :: League recognizes 37 student-athletes including nine all-conference players
  5. ^ Kenny Phillips Named All-ACC First Team :: Two Other Players Receive Honors
  6. ^ SI.com - 2008 NFL Draft - Kenny Phillips
  7. ^ Jints Get Feeling Of Safety With Rookie - New York Post
  8. ^ Jints Get Feeling Of Safety With Rookie - New York Post
  9. ^ Jints Get Feeling Of Safety With Rookie - New York Post
  10. ^ Giants' first-rounder Kenny Phillips embraces Sean Taylor's number, spirit

[edit] External links


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2008 NFL Draft First Round Selections
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New York Giants 2008 NFL Draft selections