By Mark Simon
D3sports.com
It took Chicago senior Dan Philips a little while to answer when asked for a scouting report on himself as a football player.
Which is just as well, because the best word to describe him is indescribable.
With an offense that couldn't muster more than 22 points in a game until the final contest of last season, a year in which the team suffered three of its four defeats by three points or less, Maroons head coach Dick Maloney decided it would be worthwhile for Phillips, a 1999 D3football.com All-America team first-team selection at linebacker, to play on both sides of the ball.
"I thought about doing it last year, but I never made a commitment to it,'' said Maloney, whose team hosts Rose-Hulman on Saturday. "This summer, he said to me that he felt he could add something to the offense.''
In last week's season-opening 28-16 victory at Lake Forest, Philips made 10 tackles, scored two rushing touchdowns, and for good measure blocked a pair of kicks on special teams. Philips came in for four offensive plays, and on each one, he got the ball. He scored on a 2-yard plunge midway through the third quarter to extend Chicago's lead to eight points, then went in on a 6-yard run in the final minute of the contest to put the game away.
"I think by the end of the game, they knew what the play would be (when I came in),'' Philips said. "On the goal line, you're not trying to trick them. Our offensive line got a good push and got everyone blocked to open the hole. That's what it's all about -- line them up and we'll see who wins. They knew what we were going to do and we still beat them.''
At 256 pounds, it's hard to stop Philips, who lined up at tailback in the goal line situations in this contest, though he could see a lot more time at fullback as the season progresses. There's no worry about him getting tired though. We should note that in his spare time, Philips is the team's long-snapper for punts and point-after attempts.
"I'm used to being short on air,'' said Philips, who in addition to being tireless is also the strongest player on the team, having done 37 reps of the 225-pound bench press. "I've had to play defense and special teams the last three years, so I'm out there most of the time. It's special teams that really wears you down because of the sprints.''
The thing that Philips really loves is getting his hands on the football, even if it means taking on the kamikaze role of kick-blocker. He blocked both an extra-point and a punt last week.
"A lot of it is timing,'' said Philips. "If you are quick off the ball, you can get a step on your man. Takeoff is the most important thing. You don't want to aim for the kicker, you want to aim for the block-point (approximately 10½ yards behind the line of scrimmage). If you go too far, you'll hit the kicker without hitting the ball.''
The feeling on this squad is that there isn't anything that Philips can't do. That explains why he's already gotten looks from two NFL teams- both the Packers and his favorite squad, the Bears. Both think that he is most ideally suited to play fullback.
"If we wanted him to be a running back, a tight end, a guard, a defensive end, or a defensive tackle, he could be,'' said Maloney. "If we had to have him play quarterback, I think he could learn it in one or two days. He is just an extremely good athlete.''
Philips isn't so sure that he could throw the football, though he's looking forward to catching a few passes. He finally came up with the following description of his style of play.
"I'm a combination of a physical player and a smart player,'' said Philips, an economics major who was near the top of his class at McHenry County (Ill.) High. "Physical enough to take and go through blocks and smart enough to know how to read plays.
Chicago was picked to place third in the University Athletic Association in the preseason poll. The view of the team could change if it can scrap together a nice win streak. With Philips and top tacklers Nick Freeman, Jason Slous and Ryan Muldoon anchoring the defense, teams will have a tough time scoring points. On offense, the plan is to go with a balanced attack that last week featured 34 runs and 36 passes. Sophomore quarterback Josh Dunn completed throws to six receivers -- Philips not among them. On the ground, the Maroons will alternate at the tailback spot between senior Greg Jefson and freshman Samuel Owens.
"We were highly competitive last season,'' Maloney said, "and this year, we want to be highly successful. Our goals are to win the UAA, to go undefeated, and to make the NCAAs. That would be pretty nice.''
Maybe, you would even call it, indescribable.
