Kenny Phillips's Bio
  • Hometown: Miami, Fla.
  • High School: Carol City
  • Height / Weight: 6-2 / 210
  • Position: Safety
  • Experience: R
  • Major: Sports Administration
Phillips played in 34 games with 33 starts at Miami before entering the NFL Draft following his junior season. He registered 203 tackles (133 solos), 15 stops for losses of 31 yards, 1 fumble recovery and 3 forced fumbles. He had 7 and 13 pass deflections.Intercepted 3 passes vs. Duke in 2006 to become the 1st Hurricane with 3 picks in a game since Bobby Harden (vs. Brigham Young) in 1988. He shares the school record with Joe Dixon (vs. Catholic University, 1937), Bill Steiner (vs. Georgia, 1940), Al Hudson (vs. Michigan State, 1945 and vs. Georgia, 1948), Whitey Campbell (vs. Chattanooga, 1946 and vs. Rollins, 1947), John Bookman (vs. Boston College, 1956), Larry DiGiammarino (vs. Oregon, 1958) and Gene Coleman (vs. Florida, 1979).

Phillips was the 9th Miami safety to earn All-America honors. The list includes Burgess Owens (1972), Fred Marion (1981), Bennie Blades (1986-87), Darryl Williams (1991), C.J. Richardson (1994), Ed Reed (2000-01), Sean Taylor (2003) and Brandon Meriweather (2005).

In 2007, Phillips was named 1st team All-America by The NFL Draft Report, adding All-ACC 1st-team accolades. He started all 12 games at free safety, ranking second on the team with 82 tackles (54 solo). He registered 6 stops for losses and forced 3 fumbles. Phillips also deflected 5 passes and intercepted 2.

As a sophomore in 2006, Phillips received 3rd-team All-America honors from Rivals.com and was a 2nd-team All-ACC choice, despite missing the final 3 regular-season games with a broken thumb. He was one of 8 Miami players selected to the 2006 ACC All-Academic football team and was named the team's Defensive Back of the Year. He made 54 tackles (39 solo) with 6 stops behind the line of scrimmage in 10 games, starting at cornerback, free safety and strong safety. He also intercepted 4 passes and deflected 6 others.


In 2005, Phillips earned freshman All-America and All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors from The Sporting News, Rivals.com and College Football News. He started the final 11 games of the year at free safety, replacing an injured Anthony Reddick. He ranked 3rd on the team with 67 tackles (40 solo), adding 3 stops for losses, 2 quarterback pressures, 2 pass break-ups, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Phillips chose Miami over scholarship offers from Tennessee, Florida State and North Carolina State.