Setting A Standard

Maryland football head coach Michael Locksley met individually with each of his players ahead of the 2024 season. 

During the meeting, he asked each student-athlete what they would sacrifice to win a national championship. Some said they would give up their car, while others said they would give up their jewelry collection. 

But Jordan Phillips, a redshirt sophomore defensive lineman, said he would give up his life. Locksley, taken aback by his comment, acknowledged how extreme Phillips’ response was, but the nose tackle doubled down. 

“He looked me in the eye and said, ‘If God walked in and said, Jordan, I need you, and if you come, your team and Coach Locks will reach their goals,’” Locksley said. “He said, ‘God take my life.’” 

“It gave me goosebumps,” Locksley continued. “It made the hair on my neck stand up. I meet with kids for a living, and it wasn't one of those shallow things. He meant it, and anybody who has seen the way he's worked around here would understand why.”

Understanding Phillips may be difficult for some. Many of his teammates admitted they didn't exactly know what to make of him upon first impression. However, as they got to know him better, they understood his demeanor. His manner has left a lasting impact on his peers and the football program. 

“He's one way or the highway,” defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Brian Williams said. “I think everyone in the world is starting to notice what we've already known about him. He means what he says, he says what he means. As much as he talks it, he shows it more in his actions.”

Phillips’ work ethic is unmatched. He’s regularly the first student-athlete to clock into Jones-Hill House, where he can be seen breaking down film and writing notes. People working in football operations often hear music blasting from the defensive line room on the floor below in the early mornings — that’s how they know Phillips is in the building. 

“What really motivates me is my mom,” Phillips said. “Growing up watching her take care of me and my brother. It was hard. Getting evicted from apartment to apartment. One thing about it is my mom always had a great work ethic for us.”

According to teammates, the defensive lineman always works out to get stronger in the gym. Others on the team observed how hard Phillips worked, and although they were hesitant to match his intensity, he now leads workouts for the defensive line group outside of the team’s activities. 

“I feel like he carries me along a lot because when he first got here, I used to look at him like, ‘Man, he’s always working, I can’t really keep up with him,’” Phillips’ teammate on the D-line, Tommy Akingbesote said. “But as time went on, I got closer with Jordan as we hung out. Now I'm going to the gym with him after practice. He brought me along with him, and I appreciate him for that. … He brought a standard to add to the defense.”

A native of Ocoee, Florida, Phillips was a three-star prospect and the No. 47 defensive lineman in the class of 2022. Williams and the Terps recruited him out of high school, but Phillips chose Tennessee as his destination. Phillips appeared in  three games for the Vols in 2022, who went 11-2 and won the Orange Bowl. However, he maintained a redshirt designation and entered the transfer portal.

Phillips landed in College Park because of his prior relationship with Maryland’s staff. He then became an immediate starter on its defense in 2023. He appeared in all 13 games with 10 starts, totaling 28 tackles (14 solo) and 1.5 tackles for loss. Standing 6-foot-3, 320-pounds, Phillips excels as a disrupter, utilizing his freakish strength, size and explosiveness to plug up gaps and create havoc for opposing offenses. 

He says another driving force behind his work ethic is the many coaches who sacrifice time away from their families to put players in positions to succeed. 

“When I was a freshman coming into college, I was like, ‘Man, these coaches work really hard,’” Phillips said. “Then I transferred over here, I was like, ‘These Maryland coaches work hard too.’ If they spend all this time working and designing a game plan so we could have the best possible outcome, why can't we do the same thing as players?”

The standard that Akingbesote says Phillips brought is glaring. In 2023, the Terps’ defense held opponents to 3.4 rushing yards per carry and 22.4 points per game, their lowest marks as a team since 2010. 

Linebacker Donnell Brown was Phillips’ roommate for roughly three weeks when he first transferred to College Park. He says all Phillips did was watch film and work out. Phillips was still a teenager at the time. 

“Sometimes he would work out at like 11 or 12 at night, and after a crazy workout day we already had,” Brown said. “I would actually tell him sometimes you need to rest a little bit.”

But Phillips isn’t just a hard worker for himself. He’s unselfish and committed to the excellence of the football program. Over the summer, he sacrificed countless hours after practices and lifting sessions to work with the team’s walk-ons in the defensive line room. Senior walk-on defensive lineman Samuel Adu is one of those student-athletes. 

“Coach Locksley always says, if you make it about the team, everybody benefits,” Adu said. “But if you make it about yourself, only you benefit. If everybody wins, the team wins. I feel like Jordan embodies that. … It just goes to show selflessness and shows that the team is his focus. That's just the kind of guy Jordan is.”

Phillips says it doesn’t matter what one’s status is. Whether on a full scholarship or a walk-on, he sees value in every person in the football program. 

“I'm trying to teach walk-ons and even everybody in my room,” Phillips said. “All you gotta do is work hard at your craft and just have hope. Whether it's being a good football player, basketball player, tennis player or teacher, it doesn't matter. If you work with reckless abandonment at whatever it is you want to do. You will have a chance to do whatever your goals desire.” 

In 2024, Maryland football is leaning on Phillips and his relentless attitude as a student-athlete on the defensive line. 

“He has pulled guys along with him that didn't always do things the right way,” Locksley said. “Now they're following him. That's where player-led comes into play.”