DRC Hard work paying dividends "Phillips"

[OldTimer]

Football: Hard work paying dividends for UNT quarterback

09:39 AM CST on Thursday, November 17, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Even back in his days at San Angelo Lake View, Matt Phillips wasn’t the flashiest of quarterbacks.

Brown bag always described Phillips best, right down to his daily routine during his days as a three-year starter for the Chiefs. While the rest of his friends jumped in cars and dashed to the nearest fast food restaurant or the lunchroom, Phillips grabbed his food and headed straight to the coaches’ offices.

“Matt would come in every day with his lunch,” Lake View offensive coordinator Scott Lipsey said. “We would sit there and look at film. We spent a lot of time while he was here working on his game.”

That extra time is paying off in ways even Lipsey didn’t expect during Phillips’ freshman season at North Texas.

Phillips earned the backup quarterback job during fall practice and took advantage of his first chance at extended playing time last week when he came on in the fourth quarter of the Mean Green’s game against Florida Atlantic and led UNT on three scoring drives.

UNT still lost the game, but Phillips made his case for additional playing time during the rest of the season.

“Matt’s been effective because he comes in every week and studies like he is going to play,” UNT coach Darrell Dickey said. “He has a real good presence about him. He has a lot of upside.”

Phillips has been working toward his outing against FAU ever since he was a freshman at Lake View, where he took advantage of every bit of his physical talent and developed into a standout high school quarterback who was overlooked by most Division I colleges.

“It really started for me back in high school,” Phillips said of his journey to becoming a Division I-caliber player. “My coaches thought that I could play at the college level and put pressure on me to do more. That paid off.”

The process started during Phillips’ freshman year, when he made an impression on Lake View’s coaches while starting at quarterback for a team of players in the ninth grade.

Phillips got his first break the following spring when Lake View’s starting quarterback broke his ankle in practice.

Phillips started for the Chiefs through the first few games of the next season.

“We decided that it wouldn’t be right for a senior to lose his starting job due to injury and rotated our quarterbacks in our first district game,” Lipsey said. “After that game the senior came in and told me that Matt was our future and to play him the rest of the season.”

The move paid off for Lake View.

“What people don’t understand is that Matt threw for 1,500 yards and rushed for another 700 every year he was our quarterback,” said Joey McQueen, Lake View’s former head coach, who is now at Smithville. “He had close to 4,000 passing yards in his career.”

Phillips’ high school coaches say those impressive statistics have much more to do with his work ethic and dedication to studying the game than just his raw physical talent. Phillips stands 6-1, but is a stockier than most quarterbacks at 220 pounds. That unusual build and an unimpressive 4.8 40-yard dash time made Phillips’ development as a pocket passer all the more important to his future as a quarterback.

Phillips knew he needed to take advantage of every edge he had.

“Matt is a hard-working kid who studies the game,” said Brady Gilbert, the secondary and special teams coach at Lake View who is also a family friend. “He found a way to make himself a good player because he is driven.”

Few Division I teams were interested in Phillips, despite his success at Lake View.

“Matt’s not real flashy,” Gilbert said. “That kept him from going somewhere else. People were more interested in him as a fullback or a linebacker.”

Gilbert and the rest of Lake View’s coaches called all their contacts to try and find Phillips a place to play after his senior year. One of the first coaches they contacted was UNT assistant Eric Russell, who recruits the West Texas area.

Phillips also went to single day camps at Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor to try and catch a coach’s eye.

“We had some people call us and tell us that we might be missing out,” Dickey said. “We got some film, looked at that, brought him in and are glad he is here.”

Phillips arrived at UNT early, got off to a quick start in two-a-day practices and moved into a two-man battle with highly regarded redshirt freshman Daniel Meager for the starting job. Meager eventually earned the starting spot with a solid performance while Phillips tailed off late.

“I started off just being myself, but after a while things started to get more complicated,” Phillips said. “It took me a while to get over that learning curve.”

Phillips only received limited playing time in the first few weeks of the season and entered the FAU game with 27 yards on 3-of-8 passing.

Phillips tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass late against Kansas State, but also tossed two interceptions on just four attempts against Louisiana Tech.

McQueen told Phillips to continue working when he called to discuss his frustrating start earlier this season.

Phillips got his chance to break out when Meager was knocked out of the Mean Green’s game against FAU with a concussion. After tossing a pair of incomplete passes on his first series, Phillips came back to throw for 138 yards while leading the Mean Green on a comeback that came up short.

“At the beginning, Matt didn’t have the poise you need as a quarterback,” UNT wide receiver Brandon Jackson said. “I could tell when we played Florida Atlantic that he did. He was nervous at first, but once we started rolling, he showed that leadership.”

A solid fourth quarter only added to Phillips’ confidence.

“I feel more comfortable now than I did a week ago,” Phillips said. “There is something different about the atmosphere now. The guys saw that I can hang in during a tough spot and they responded to it.”

Dickey said this week that UNT would consider giving Phillips more playing time Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe, but his decision would be based in part on how Meager recovers from his concussion.

Meager is one of the top-rated quarterbacks UNT has signed under Dickey, who could very well bring in additional contenders for the starting job next season. Phillips came to UNT as an underdog and will likely remain one.

Just don’t overlook him, his former coaches say.

“Matt has taken advantage of his talent,” Lipsey said. I am not surprised at all at the success he has had. He’s a diamond in the rough.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

[untbowler]

obviously not paying enough since Meager will be starting once again.

Thanks DD for placing glass ceiling on some of your younger players