Miami didn’t save Dolphins’ Jaelan Phillips. He saved himself. ‘He gave himself a chance’
It was March of 2020 and the fruits of Jaelan Phillips’ breakneck first winter in Florida were finally revealing themselves. He was out on the practice field for the Miami Hurricanes after spending more than a year away from football and he was — at least physically — all the way back.
After Phillips arrived in South Florida as a shadow of his old self at a mere 225 pounds, Miami was starting to get ideas about the once-promising edge rusher. He was, after all, once the No. 1 recruit in the country and he was looking like it again, and then COVID-19 came to the United States.
David Feeley couldn’t help but worry. It had only been about 16 months since Phillips decided to retire from football and only about seven since he decided to fully recommit himself to the sport by showing up in Coral Gables.
“Now we’re thinking, ‘Holy Toledo, what are we going to do? This guy’s going home,’ ” the Hurricanes strength and conditioning coach said. “When we saw Jaelan come back from quarantine, we said, All right, this guy means business. This guy’s going to be something.’ ”
It was, effectively, the final benchmark in Phillips’ rebirth. He returned to campus about four months later and looked the same as he did when he left. By the end of the year, he was an All-American. In April, he was the No. 18 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
Phillips likes to say, “Miami saved me.” Those seven months did. They also help explain why the Dolphins were so enamored with him, even when he faced questions about his injury history and his love of the game.
Phillips’ first preseason in the NFL was rocky. He missed more than a week of training camp with a lower-body injury, sat out the first preseason game, then recorded just two tackles and quarterback hit in his final two exhibitions.
For a first-round pick and the first edge rusher off the board, it was underwhelming. In Phillips’ larger story, it barely registers.
“This journey has been incredible and I’m so blessed to even be in this position,” the 6-5, 266-pound linebacker said in May. “Now is definitely far from the time to rest.
A ‘kick in the butt’
Phillips, it’s fair to say, was lost.
In September of 2018, the UCLA Bruins’ medical staff diagnosed Phillips with his third concussion and suggested he consider retirement. For about four months, he agreed. Phillips spent his final few months in Los Angeles trying to figure out what was next.
He worked at a law firm and interned with iHeartRadio. He wanted to pursue a career in music production, so he enrolled at Los Angeles City College and helped produce a rap album. In December of 2018, Phillips finally made his decision public: He had withdrawn from UCLA due to his injuries and desire to pursue his career in music.
It was the opening outsiders needed to try to convince Phillips to give football one more shot.
“I just needed a little kick in the butt,” Phillips said.
The Stanford Cardinal reached out first, but the Hurricanes checked all the boxes. Coach Manny Diaz was quickly gaining a reputation for bringing in transfers and Phillips was close with star tight end Brevin Jordan. If Phillips wanted to return to football, the option was there. If he didn’t, the university’s Frost School of Music was one of the best in the country.
“Not a lot of people get second chances in life,” said Phillips, who was the No. 1 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2017.
When Phillips got to Coral Gables in August of 2018, he was hardly recognizable. Phillips, who was 253 pounds in high school, was down to 218.
“When I met him, I was like, ‘He’s who?!’ ” Feeley said. “There’s no way.”
He, essentially, had to start over. Phillips didn’t practice at all in 2018, instead hitting the weight room for high-volume lifting sessions while everyone else was out on Greentree Practice Fields.
After about three months, Phillips’ mass was returning and, most importantly, he was obviously happy. “We’re like, ‘Hey, we may have something here,’ ” Feeley said.
The Hurricanes started integrating him into a weekly Friday speed session for non-traveling players.
“We saw his acceleration on a 10- to 15-yard basis,” Feeley said, “and it was completely different than everybody else.
“He just kind of bottomed out a little bit and listen: That’s fine. The cool story is he gave himself a chance.”
‘Mr. 305’
Draft day was “an out-of-body experience,” Phillips said. After all he had gone through, he was going to the NFL and — even better — he was staying in Miami.
Phillips moved from Coral Gables all the way to Hollywood. In the Dolphins’ rookie class, Phillips became the go-to guy for real-estate and restaurant recommendations.
“They call me ‘Mr. 305,’” he said with a laugh. “I’ll tell you that much.”
It only took one season for Miami fans to fall for Phillips as hard as he fell for the city. He piled up eight sacks and 15 1/2 tackles for loss in 10 games, and made his comeback story possible with jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes work.
In an early season win against the Louisville Cardinals last year, Phillips got cut blocked and the coaches briefly panicked when his knee bent awkwardly. The next morning, Phillips was in the weight room, squatting 315 pounds.
“I’m thinking, ‘Does this guy have an ‘S’ under his shirt?’ ” Feeley said.
It stayed this way until his final days on campus.
Phillips solidified himself as a first-round pick in March, when he ran a 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds at the Hurricanes’ Pro Day. It was his final impression before the draft, and he felt a sense of relief.
At 5:30 a.m. the next day, he was back at the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility. It was time for another lift.
