It's been an interesting road that Harrison Phillips has followed. He could end this season as a member of the All-Pac-12 team, but that destination didn't always seem likely. He had a difficult time getting national notice as a high school football player in Nebraska, as most programs assume the Cornhuskers will claim all in-state players with Division I talent. Phillips originally planned on using football to maximize his academic opportunities, and aspired to play at Harvard or Yale. As he found more success on the field, his options widened to places like Duke and Northwestern, respectable football programs with respectable academic reputations. Once more established football programs like Nebraska and Kansas State sent offers, he realized that there was only one school out there that could offer him everything he wanted.
In a testament to the value the Stanford coaching staff places on overall athleticism, Phillips drew his first serious interest from the Cardinal after he won the Nebraska state heavyweight wrestling championship as a junior. The Cardinal offered following his impressive performance at their camp that summer, and Phillips committed a few weeks later.
Defensive linemen don't typically see the field for significant time until at least their second or third years on campus, but Phillips bucked that trend and became an important part of the defense as a true freshman in 2014. Throughout training camp the coaches had gone back and forth about his prospects as they tried to decide whether to play him or to redshirt him, but a midseason injury to Aziz Shittu forced Phillips onto the field, and he impressed early, recording his first career sack in his first career game.
Expectations were high for 2015, but a knee injury in the opener against Northwestern ended Phillips's season, forcing him to the sidelines. You've heard that an injury can sometimes make a player appreciate the game more, but in Phillips's case his injury allowed him to understand the game more. During that sophomore season, Phillips was assigned to scouting duties and spent his time looking at film of upcoming opponents. "I made remarkable strides in understanding the scheme of football," he explained. By watching film and looking for tendencies in opposing offenses, he grew to understand how important it was to pay attention to details of scheme and technique, not only in preparation but during the game as well.
There was an added benefit to this extended tutoring with the coaching staff. I've always been interested in defensive coordinator Lance Anderson's ability to make adjustments to counteract an opposing offense's early success, and Phillips attributed this in part to a trust of his players. He explained that the Stanford coaches value the players' reports of what's happening on the field and take their advice in certain situations. He cited an example against UCLA. On the game's final play, Anderson was leaning towards bringing pressure against UCLA's Josh Rosen, but Phillips lobbied for coverage and a standard rush, explaining that the Bruins seemed tired along the offensive line. Anderson listened, rushed just three players, and Phillips was proven right as Joey Alfieri strip-sacked Rosen and Solomon Thomas came up with the scoop and score to ice the game. Looking back on that conversation with Anderson, Phillips realized that he gained more than just knowledge of the game during his time watching video as a sophomore. He had also bonded with the coaching staff and gained the confidence necessary to speak up and offer his opinions in the heat of the moment.
It's leadership like that that will make this year's defensive line a force to be reckoned with. As the chart to the left demonstrates, Phillips and Solomon Thomas accounted for the vast majority of the production from last year's defensive line, and Thomas's departure for the NFL leaves a significant void. (Don't be too alarmed by those numbers, however. Remember that the primary function of defensive linemen in the 3-4 scheme is to absorb blocks and allow linebackers to make plays. Thomas's absurd numbers demonstrate why he'll be playing on Sundays instead of Saturdays this fall.)
Aside from Phillips, only junior Dylan Jackson and fifth-year senior Eric Cotton return, and both should figure into this year's rotation. Cotton, specifically, has already earned praise from David Shaw during the first few days of practice.
Beyond those two players, we should also begin to see the fruits of recent recruiting success along the defensive line. I'm most interested in seeing sophomore Mike Williams, the heavily recruited defensive tackle from Texas who turned down several elite programs to come to Stanford. At 280 pounds, Williams has the size to make an impression this fall. Phillips suggested that we'd see big things from him, as well as sophomore defensive end Jovan Swann. Fellow sophomores Bo Peek and Thomas Schaffer could also see the field, assuming that the coaches adhere to their history of rotating bodies through the defensive line.
The key to this line's success, however, will be Phillips. He's already been named to every defensive watch list out there, and all reports indicate that he's been dominant this summer, and not just in the Media Day slime making competition (below). His size and athleticism will torment offensive linemen throughout the conference, but his football knowledge and leadership will have perhaps an even greater impact as he mentors what could be the most talented group of young defensive linemen to come through the program in years.
