Jaelan Phillips – April 29, 2021
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Thursday, April 29, 2021
LB Jaelan Phillips
(Just want to know what you’re feeling right now. How cool is it to be drafted by a city that’s already welcomed you once with open arms?) – “Words can’t even describe how I feel right now. It’s literally like an out-of-body experience, but I’m just so grateful for Miami as a city. They embraced me when I came into the ‘U,’ and they’ve supported me for the last two years of my journey, so there’s no place I’d rather be. Back to the 305. (laughter) It’s just crazy. I’m so excited.”
(What’s this process been like for you? A couple years ago, your football career was over and it looked bleak for you and now you’re a first-round pick.) – “All I can say about that is perseverance. There was good days, there was bad days; but at the end of the day, I kept my faith, I stayed humble and I worked hard and I had great people around me to support me and carry me through this process. It’s been surreal. These last three years of my life, so much has changed and I’m just so blessed to be in this position that I am right now and so thankful for everybody who’s helped me along the way.”
(Just curious what your relationship was like with Head Coach Brian Flores, your interactions, your impressions of him as you kind of got to know him a little bit during this process?) – “He seems like an extremely genuine guy. I’m so excited to be able to come in and do everything I can to help out this team. I had great interactions with the Dolphins and like I said, I’m just so excited to be back in Miami, back in the 305. It’s funny because I just moved all my stuff out of Coral Gables back home to L.A., (laughter) and now I’m going back to Miami, so another road trip coming up for me. (laughter)”
(Obviously a lot of people viewed you as maybe the top edge rusher in this class, but the question was the concussions. I guess can you take us through maybe what you’ve dealt with since UCLA with those and where you are and if you had to make teams comfortable with your medical?) – “I had two concussions while I was at UCLA. I play football; it’s a physical sport, so ask anybody in the NFL and I guarantee they’ve had some concussions in their time, so it’s nothing to be worried about. Obviously the team was comfortable with my medical history and just addressing it– I looked at it like I had nothing to hide. I just was forthcoming with everything and I just really let them get to know me as a person so that they could be extremely comfortable with the situation.”
(You talked about having to move all your stuff back. What’s the familiarity like? You get to stay in the same building, share the same home field. Did you ever make it out to any Dolphins games, but more importantly, what’s the sense of comfort that you have in this area?) – “I never made it out to a Dolphins game, but I’ve said it before in a Tweet: ‘Los Angeles made me, but Miami saved me.’ And so I really, I owe a lot to this city and I’m so excited to be able to come back and be able to play here for as long as I can. It’s amazing. It’s an amazing feeling.”
(What are you going to do for the Dolphins? What are you going to offer them?) – “My tenacity and my hard work. That’s something I can really hang my hat on. I’m going to come in Day 1 and just do the most that I can for the team. Just come in, be a humble servant, really just come in just ready to soak up everything, be a sponge and just put my head down and work. I want to earn the respect of my teammates and my coaches, first and foremost, so I’m just excited for this opportunity. It’s crazy. (laughter) I keep saying that, but I can’t even believe it. This is insane.”
(I got two questions for you. I guess the first one is what pass rusher or defensive player did you look up to growing up early in your career and the other one is you’re very into music – do you have any plans of making a song or a beat that you made it to the league?) – “Growing up, I used to watch Shawne Merriman. I watched some tape of Lawrence Taylor. Those are some older guys and then just more recently guys like the Bosa brothers, the Watt brothers, Chandler Jones are guys I really kind of model my game after. But music, man, I don’t plan on making any songs or anything like that. (laughter) I’m all in. I’m coming in to play football and I’m excited to get into the facilities and work my – work my butt off – I don’t want to say any expletives. (laughter) I’m going to work hard.”
(Obviously you come into a scheme in Miami that they’re really versatile. They play stand-up with the edge guys and hand-down. Where do you feel most comfortable and kind of where would you grade your versatility as far as an edge rusher?) – “I feel comfortable really doing anything. I played in a 3-4 outside linebacker system, I’ve played in a 4-3 hand-in-the-dirt system. So I really feel like I can do it all and really whatever is required of me and whatever Coach wants me to do, I’ll be able to do. So I’m just excited to learn the system and come in and really just take my game to that next level.”
(Just curious as a football fan, your impressions of WR Jaylen Waddle – your other newest teammate here – and your excitement about his game.) – “He’s a dog. I’ve been watching him for a little while now, and he’s just electric. That’s one way I can describe him. He’s a playmaker through and through, so I’m super excited to get to know him. I know he’s going to contribute to this team greatly. Absolutely, he’s a stud.”
(I wanted to ask you about what’s it like to be the first edge rusher – the first pass rusher selected in this draft?) – “It’s a blessing. There’s a bunch of other great guys, namely Greg (Rousseau), obviously. Me and Greg are really tight, and so I’m super excited to see where he ends up, but I just feel blessed to be the first one taken and most importantly, blessed to be able to get taken by the Dolphins. This is an amazing opportunity. I feel so blessed.”
(I’d love to go back to your Pro Day. Obviously that had a big impact for you. You had a really good day out there. How did you feel after that performance and did you start to sense that Miami might be the team based on any feedback they gave you from your Pro Day performance?) – “It was definitely a relief. I could take a deep breath after that performance. I spent three months day-in and day-out preparing for that, so it was really fun to be able to do as well as I did in that and then honestly, I had no idea. You know how this draft works; you really have no idea where you’re going to end up. So when I got that call and it said ‘Miami Dolphins,’ it was like a dream come true. It’s unbelievable. Back to the 305. It’s like full circle. This is all God’s plan. It’s incredible.”
(You said you had to move all your stuff out of your Coral Gables apartment and now you’re going to be moving it all back. Just wondering how familiar you became with maybe real estate in Miami, where you plan on living now if you have any plans like that or what you want to do with your first paycheck?) – “I definitely want to be close to the facility. The Hard Rock facility is going to be open pretty soon, so anywhere I can be close up in North Miami, Weston, Davie, even Fort Lauderdale maybe. I know my way around there a little bit. I spent some time up north. I was down in Coral Gables for the most part, but I definitely spent some time up north, so wherever the team recommends I should stay and really just kind of being close to the facility, being able to get that vibe and really kind of acclimate.”
