Editor’s note: In the final 50 days before Chip Kelly and the Ducks return to the field to defend their status as Pac-12 Champions, the Emerald sports desk will take a look back at one Oregon alum each day whose jersey number corresponds to the amount of days left before the season opener against Arkansas State.
Blair Phillips came to Oregon out of Mississippi State Gulf Coast Junior College in 2005 and was a focal point of the Ducks’ defense for his two seasons in Eugene. Phillips initially came off the bench for Oregon, but stepped into the starting lineup for a game against Stanford in 2005 and never relinquished his spot.
When he was on the field, Phillips was likely the most physical player on the turf; he registered an eye-popping bench press of 405 pounds while at Oregon, which ranks among the highest ever by a linebacker. After registering 45 tackles during his junior season, Phillips was expected to break out during his senior season, and he didn’t disappoint.
Aside from leading the team with 98 tackles, Phillips made arguably the two biggest defensive plays of Oregon’s infamous upset of Oklahoma in 2006. First, he stuffed Adrian Peterson — the Sooners’ star running back and eventual NFL Pro-Bowler — on the goal line in the fourth quarter to force what would be a very important field goal that put the Sooners up only 10. Later, he got over Oklahoma’s kick protection to block what would have been the game-winning field goal after Oregon mounted a furious, officials-aided comeback.
After his time at Oregon ended, Phillips entered the 2007 NFL draft and was not selected.