2016-2017 The Opinion-Tribune’s Male Athlete of the Year

Ask Fremont-Mills football coach Jeremy Christiansen who is the best athlete among the three Phillips brothers he has coached, and the coach laughs and quips, “You’re not going to catch any fish on that one today.”

“They’re all very good athletes, we’ll put it that way,” the diplomatic Knights’ coach said of the brothers’ Phillips, Seth, Spencer and Sam. “They each have their own strengths.”

Ask Sam, the recently graduated and youngest Phillips brother, the same question and he neither laughs nor quips.

“No doubt, me,” Phillips said.

It’s hard to argue with Phillips’ assertion or, really, athleticism.

Phillips wrapped up his sterling senior season this spring with a silver medal in the discus at the Iowa State Track Meet bookending a second straight first team all-Corner Conference season in basketball and a second straight all-state nod in football.

Sam Phillips is The Opinion-Tribune’s 2016-2017 Male Athlete of the Year.
All kidding aside, Christensen said Phillips is indeed a great athlete but he said he’s an even better person.

“He’s a great kid, a hard worker and if you look at what he’s done in football, basketball and track, he does it all at 110 percent and he get its done in the classroom,” said Christensen of Phillips who was also Fremont-Mills’ 2017 salutatorian.

When asked if Phillips is one of the best athletes he’s coached in his 13 years at the helm in Tabor, Christiansen called Phillips “top tier.”

“He’s a 1,000 point scorer in basketball, third all-time in scoring, which is impressive all on its own. But then you look at what he’s done in state track and football, you name it, he’s done it,” Christiansen said. “The only thing he didn’t play was baseball. He put the whole package together.”

Phillips ended his Knight basketball career third on the all-time scoring charts with 1,254 points. His 78 career three-pointers and 667  rebounds also rank in the top five. He led the Knights in scoring, rebounding, three-pointers and steals this last season.

But it’s football he calls his “favorite” sport. He is one of only two Knights to have rushed for a 1,000 career yards in football and scored 1,000 points in basketball and his 47 career touchdowns on the gridiron place him in the top 5 all-time on the Knights’ charts.

Phillips came into football camp his freshman year as a gangly, 185-pounder and leaves the Knights as a 6-foot-2, 215 pound two-time all-state linebacker. He didn’t get that way overnight – “He’s always been one of those guys you had to kick out of the weight room,” Christiansen said – but it was pretty obvious to the Knight football staff by the end of Phillips’ freshman year, he was a special athlete.

“You could see the change,” the coach said. “He picked things up really fast and then he just started working. A lot of times you don’t see kids keep their speed when they get bigger. He was able to get faster as he picked up weight. He’s always been explosive. I think that goes back to all his hard work in the weight room and the sports he’s played; he never really took a season off.”

That’s the way Phillips likes it. He’s active. He’s running and working and hustling. Every little effort may not show up in every play, but it does show up. Some time.

Phillips admits he got his athleticism from his DNA. Dad Brett was a high school athlete and Mom, Amy, was a standout basketball player and discus thrower in Anselmo, Neb.
“I think I get my athleticism from her,” Phillips said. “I think even my Dad would agree with that for the most part.”

He isn’t sure, however, where he got his strong work ethic from. But he’s pretty sure he’s always had it. Self-motivation’s never been an issue.

“I’m always working towards a goal,” Christiansen said. “I’m always working toward something down the road. I’ve always thought, ‘If I work hard now, it’ll pay off later.’”

The hard work has paid off. Phillips earned a football scholarship to Northwest Missouri State, where his brother Spencer is a reserve defensive tackle. Seth was a former walk off offensive lineman for the Bearcats.

Phillips is listed as a linebacker recruit for NWMS but the list of positions Phillips DIDN’T play for the Knights is far easier to list than the one’s he did.

Center.

That’s the list.

The spots Phillips did line up at include quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, full back, guard, defensive end, defensive tackle, linebacker, corner and safety. Oh, and he also punted and handled some kick off duties.

“He could do a little bit of everything which was awesome for us,” Christiansen said.
Phillips attributes his ability to play and excel at multiple positions not so much to his athleticism but rather, his observation skills.

“I pay attention to what everybody is doing in practice,” he said. “So when it comes to crunch time, I’ll remember it and know how to do it. I think paying attention and learning from older guys helps a lot.”

In middle school Phillips’ parents presented him with the option of attending a larger school and playing 11-man football. But Christiansen nixed the idea. He’d played with most of teammates since elementary school and a small town atmosphere was what he wanted.

“Since we played eight man, I liked playing everywhere,” he said. “But on the other hand it would have been nice to focus on one position for the next level. But I liked bouncing around.”

When asked for a story or moment in his senior season, Christiansen recalls homecoming, his teammates and the great fan support in his home town and then his thoughts drift to the tough losses. All of the above will stick with him forever, he said.
The toughest of the losses – two in fact – at he UNIDome still nag him months removed as he heads off to college.

Twice, the Knights reached the Eight-man semifinals in Cedar Falls and twice the Knights came up short; falling in the state finals in a heartbreaker his sophomore year and in the semifinals this past season.

He calls the two losses at the Dome the most gut wrenching in career that saw the Knights go 40-7 in his four years and make the playoffs every year.

“It was rough,” Phillips said. “My sophomore year was the hardest because I felt like we were the better team and they just made a few more plays than we did. My senior year, it was hard because I didn’t get to play very much and if I had I felt like we would have had a better chance.”

Phillips entered the state semifinals last fall with a banged up shoulder and then was hobbled by a rolled ankle on his second defensive snap of the game.

“I didn’t play much the rest of the game,” he lamented.

Phillips, who plans to major in pre-chiropractic, is expected to play linebacker in Maryville. At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds with a 4.62 40 yard dash time and a 32 inch vertical leap, he has prototype measurables for the Bearcats’ defense.

The coaches like his speed but haven’t ruled out a redshirt this season. He heads to the opening of fall camp Aug. 6 with his sights set on playing this year.

“(Head) Coach (Rich) Wright said my speed is why they recruited me,” Phillips said. “They like to watch the freshmen in fall camp and evaluate them then but they (the coaches) do like to redshirt freshmen for that year of development.”

Whether he sits out this year or not, Christiansen, his high school coach, said Phillips has the ability, skillset and brains to excel for the Bearcats.

“He’s a smart, physical kid who can run,” Christiansen said. “We were watching some tape from last year at our football camp last week and he (Sam) made a play and we all said, ‘Man, we’re going to miss that kid.’ He filled holes in the run game and did everything he could to be in the right position. I think he’ll do just fine there (at NWMS).”