Resilient Phillips Thrilled To Be Back On The Field
Freddie Phillips felt like 2017 was going to be his year. He had worked hard in fall camp to earn the starting spot at nickel, settling in nicely at the position after also playing safety and corner during his first two seasons at NC State.
However, early in the South Carolina game he sustained one of the worst injuries a football player can have: an Achilles tear. The Achilles injury forced him to miss the rest of the season.
"We called blitz, and I tore it on the way to the quarterback," Phillips recalled. "So the next morning I had surgery. Surgery went well."
That alone would have put Phillips in a position where he had to fight to be back to form for the 2018 season. But in January he would re-injure the Achilles again.
"I was progressing well, I was actually running way ahead of the curve," Phillips said. "The doctors said I could play spring ball and fight for a position then.
"We were running one day and I heard a pop. It was the same one, the same Achilles, and I had to start all over. I had that surgery January 12th. The doctors went back in there, reinforced it, and wrapped the graft around it this time."
Phillips put his head down and went back to work. He practically lived in the training room, where he worked with the trainers to re-gain his form.
"It’s a test everyday," Phillips said of his time in rehab. "The weight room staff pushes you everyday because they know you aren’t doing the stuff out on the field, so you aren’t saving yourself for that. I had to push myself because I knew I wasn't doing the things they were doing. Everyone else was running every day, lifting. I was lifting but I wasn’t able to do the other stuff.
"I wasn’t running until July. That’s when I had to do everything else I could. I did the ropes, any cardio, any boxing with the staff. Doing anything to work my stamina so when I get back out here they wouldn’t be like, ‘He’s been gone for so long, we might have to wait another year.' I couldn’t do that. I just made sure I was mentally prepared, physically prepared, so that when fall camp came I could do whatever I needed to do for the team."
Phillips laughed when asked if he could remember the specific moment when he felt all the way back from the multiple Achilles tears.
"Actually, I felt like I was back at Lift for Life," he said. "That was my first time going through drills with my teammates. Just seeing their faces when I did a speed turn when I broke out of it, they haven't seen me doing that because I lived in the training room for a year.
"They didn’t know what I could do, they didn’t know I could run, they didn’t know I could jump. So when they saw me backpedal, brake, made a speed turn, and break on the ball, everybody went crazy, that was when I realized I was back."
Phillips continued his hard work in fall camp where he battled and won the starting job at nickel. How does he feel just days away from the season opener?
"I’m moving... I feel great,' he said. "God is great, that’s all I can say. I couldn’t walk at the end of June, so now I’m running again. It’s fantastic."
His position coach, Aaron Henry, raved about Phillips.
"I don’t think you understand what that kid has been through," he said. "Freddie is an experienced player, and you can’t coach experience. He’s played a lot of ball games here for us. He’s a physical kid, very intelligent.
"Throughout camp, he’s been able to battle back since he’s been sore from the injuries. Just fighting through and showing resilience and showing how bad he wants to be out there. I think for that kid, I’m most excited for him because of the injuries he’s coming off of. Two of them, that’s unheard of. For that kid to still move the way he does is incredible."
Phillips understands that although he's listed as the starter, there will still be competition for the snaps at nickel because of how deep NC State is at the position. Phillips, redshirt junior Stephen Griffin, and true freshman Tanner Ingle compete every day in practice, but all three have formed a strong relationship.
"I think we have the closest room, just being honest with you," Phillips said. "There’s only a few of us in there, and talent always makes the room better. If you have more talent than the other guys you come in and say, ‘I don’t have to go all out today.’ But we have a talented freshman, [and] Griff who came from Tennessee, and me.
"We bring it everyday and you have to be ready for your time. We rotate through so when Coach [Henry] throws us out there we know we can’t lack, because we know the next man up is going to do just as good if not better. It just makes us all better at the end of the day. I think we’re so close, we probably meet more than anybody. We’re a close group."
Redshirt junior Stephen Griffin was expected to start at nickel, but he's been banged up all camp. Phillips likes what Griffin brings to the position.
"Griff is a long, rangy guy," he said. "He has a long frame. He’s played in big games at Tennessee, and he has experience. You can’t teach that. He’s bringing the SEC play to us, that just adds to us. It makes us better."
Ingle is the surprise of the group. A true freshman, players and coaches have raved about Ingle throughout fall camp.
"My man stepped up," Phillips said of Ingle. "Me and Griff couldn’t go early in camp, and he was out there running. He took it and ran with it. He’s just been learning, learning, and learning. I know the coaches have been impressed with that.
"He’s just been soaking it in like a sponge. He came from a great program in Orlando... Dr. Phillips. He’s soaked it in. He’s playing, and he’s doing well."
Phillips and Griffin have prototypical builds for the position, but Ingle isn't as long as the duo. However, he has traits which are necessary to excel at nickel.
"He’s real aggressive," Phillips added on Ingle. "He has a small frame, but he can bring it. That little frame is compact, and he brings it every play.
"Like I said, he’s a smart player. He’s on top of things and that just makes us better as a unit because like I said we have to be on it."
Ingle isn't the only freshman who caught Phillips' eye in fall camp.
"[Teshaun] Smith over at corner... he’s doing an excellent job," said Phillips. "You have Ricky [Person] at running back, he’s doing a great job running the ball for us. We have Jalynn Strickland, he’s a big-time O-lineman. The upside for him is amazing, he’s so big.
"We have a lot of guys doing great things. The staff did a great job recruiting because we have a lot of great players in here. As you said, that makes us all better. I love that."
James Madison is up first for the Wolfpack, and Phillips can't wait to get back on the field. Not only does he believe he has a chance to show what he can do, but he feels the defense has a great opportunity to show that there won't be a fall-off like a lot of folks expect given the losses from last year's squad.
"When we went into [fall camp] we were missing a lot of familiar faces, that’s it," he said. "We still have Coach Hux who’s doing a fantastic job. We brought in Coach Roof to help clean up some stuff in the secondary. We’re only getting better.
"People ask ‘How y’all going to bounce back?’ I’m like ‘Bounce back? We’re already here, we don’t need to bounce back.’ This is a program, that wasn’t a one-time thing. We’re building a legacy, not a one-time team that was good.
"We have a program, a system that we’re going through. Put the guys in the system, you do what you need to do, the results will show. That’s how I feel about it. I feel like Saturday we’ll show people we’ve been putting in the work. This is a program that’s on the rise, not just a one time thing."