Jaelan Phillips – December 7, 2022
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
LB Jaelan Phillips
(What was it like being back out here today?) – “It was fun. It was real fun. This whole city is real nostalgic for me. It has a special place in my heart. Obviously it didn’t work out with football, but there’s no bad blood at all, man. I’m just grateful to be back here soaking in every moment. I’m so blessed.”
(Did you take any moments of self-reflection, like you’re back on the same field you once retired from, in an NFL jersey?) – “I don’t got time for self-reflection. I try to stay present. I talk about that a lot and I think that maybe sometimes when we think about like, ‘oh, you know, back in the day,’ or when I see my homies from college, I’ll talk to them about it. But ultimately, I have no regrets about how everything went down. I think it was all God’s plan. It was all perfect timing. So yeah, it’s a crazy journey for sure, but it feels great.”
(What was your favorite UCLA football memory?) – “Football memory? The first game I ever played. We had the second biggest comeback in NCAA history – 35-point comeback against Texas A&M. I had a sack-and-a-half my first game as a Bruin. It all went downhill from there. (laughter)”
(Why did you come here?) – “Why did I come here? I was always a Bruin at heart. My dad went here. My aunt went here. My grandpa was the dean of the school of music for a bit. My grandma taught French here. So I have a lot of family connections and ultimately, I just felt really connected to the coaching staff and the guys on the team and I live an hour and some change away, so it was really the best of all worlds.”
(You were recently announced as the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. How did you find out and what did that mean to you?) – “I found out in a team meeting. Coach McDaniel let all of us know. And really, it’s incredible, man. I was just saying in the interview over there, the community work I do isn’t about recognition. It’s not about awards. It’s about uplifting the community, giving back to the community that did a lot for me and trying to inspire others to do the same. But it feels great obviously. I feel incredibly humbled and honored and just really grateful to be able to receive that nomination and really grateful for everybody on the Dolphins staff that’s helped me throughout this, everybody on my agency staff that’s helped me through all this. I really couldn’t have done it all without them and just people in the community, Dolphins Challenge Cancer. There’s been a lot of people that have been involved in this process. It’s really not about me. It’s a lot bigger than me, but it definitely feels great.”
(Was there anybody who maybe gave back to you and maybe that always left an impression on you?) – “I think it is more so just the example that my parents set for me. My parents and grandparents as well. They’ve always been big into philanthropy and always just told me that the No. 1 important thing in life is to give back. And so I really tried to live my life like that.”
(Last time you were here as a student athlete, I don’t know if you’ve visited since, but last time you were here, did you ever envision you getting to this point, a first-round pick in the NFL, as much success as you’re having?) – “At a point, I did. Coming into UCLA, being the No. 1-ranked player in the nation. I kind of figured I’d be a No. 1 overall draft pick kind of thing. And then about half a season later, I was like, I might not ever play football again. So definitely a whirlwind of emotions. But like I said, ultimately I think God has a plan for everybody. I think his plan for me was to be able to set an example for people and I think that I’m exactly where I need to be now.”
(This next string of games, how important is the pass rush going to be? You have QB Justin Herbert up next, QB Josh Allen quickly after that. Just how key will the pass rush be?) – “We always talk about football gets real in December. I mean, this is playoff football and it’s not necessarily win or go home, but you’ve got to have that sense of urgency in the preparation and in every game moving forward. So yeah, pass rush, complementary defense, complementary football in general is going to play a big part in that, so we definitely have to bring our A-game and just keep preparing like we have been all season.”
(How much family do you have and how far away?) – “I have my immediate family and my aunt and uncle live right next to my parents, and then my grandparents on my dad’s side live in Redlands as well. It’s like an hour and 15 minutes away with no traffic, about three hours with traffic. (laughter) But I have like 91 people coming to the game, so lots of friends, lots of family, supporters. (laughter)”
(I remember last year as a rookie kind of a slow start in training camp, ramping up during the regular season … Can you kind of give an example of something on the field where like it’s clicking faster? Maybe it didn’t click as fast maybe in your rookie year?) – “To be honest with you, I don’t even think I can recall anything in particular that just clicks or anything like that. I just think the more experience you get, the faster you can play and the more instinctive you can play. I feel like I kind of set out with the season and my goal was to become a more complete player overall and be able to play early downs as well as rushing the passer. I think I’ve done a decent job at it and I’m going to keep moving forward and keep trying to progress on that line.”
(How’s that chemistry between you, LB Bradley Chubb and LB Melvin Ingram coming along?) – “We’re super tight, man. Super tight. We’re good friends. That’s my dawgs. I love them boys, man. I got a lot of appreciation and I’m really grateful for the guys that we have in the room. It’s not just Chubb and Melvin. It’s ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel), it’s Cam Goode, it’s Brennan Scarlett. We have a really, really tight-knit group of guys.”
(I guess specifically I meant on the field. Like when you guys are on there together, how is that?) – “We are having fun out there, man. I don’t know necessarily how that affects people’s game plans and things like that, but all I know is I love having Bradley (Chubb) over there. I love having ‘Gink’ (Andrew Van Ginkel) over there. I love having Melvin (Ingram) over there. So it’s really cool that we all get to kind of do our thing and show our production.”
(You love South Florida but what are some things that sometimes you miss – a place, a restaurant, a spot, a beach or whatever – that is unique about Southern California?) – “Healthy food. It’s bougie. (laughter) It’s kind of how I am. But yeah, it’s the weather. The weather’s better out here. I’m sorry, South Florida. (laughter) The humidity is a little eh, especially in camp and stuff. But yeah, for me, I mean, you got Tender Greens, Sweet Green, Tocaya, Nekter, all these like – and I’m kind of prissy when it comes to that. I like my good foods so nothing wrong with South Florida food. I’ll give a shout out to them, too. I like a little Pollo Tropical sometimes, you know what I’m saying. But yeah, I think Cali – I was born in Cali, raised in Cali, so I’ll always be a Cali boy at heart, but I definitely got a lot of love for Miami.”
(Speaking of sacks, the guy that you’re going to have to bring down on Sunday, QB Justin Herbert, I guess how difficult is he, a guy that size to bring down? What do you see on tape as far as what you have to do when you’re in pursuit of him?) – “Yeah, I think that, Justin’s (Herbert) a really athletic guy. Crazy strong arm and he has kind of deceptive speed, too, especially once he gets out into the open field. He’s 6’5, so he’s really got the stride. So it’s going to be important for us to keep our rush lane integrity and rush as a team and really like I said, play complementary football. I think there’s so many layers to complementary football. It’s not just about the offense and the defense and the special teams being complementary; but it’s also the linebackers and the d-line playing complementary, the d-line and the back end playing complementary and even within the rush, the four of us or five of us if it’s rushing, like we all have to be on the same page. And so I think it’s going to be important to do that. But yeah, like I said, he’s extremely talented so it’s going to be a fun one.”
