Long Road Back
June 08, 2005 03:49 PM | General
June 8, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The road to recovery has been much longer and more uncertain than Erick Phillips ever thought it would be.
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| It has been a long road to complete recovery for junior running back Erick Phillips.
Pete Emerson photo |
The talented junior running back was once pegged for stardom at WVU after having a very productive career playing in one of the nation’s hotbeds for high school football players in Ohio. An all-state runner at Davidson High School near Columbus, Phillips ran for nearly 5,000 career yards including 1,882 his senior season while scoring 22 touchdowns.
The 5-foot-9-inch, 220-pound runner came to West Virginia in the fall of 2002 expecting similar results. But fate sometimes has a strange way of adjusting one’s plans. After redshirting his first season, Phillips broke into the running back rotation as a second-year freshman in 2003. He saw action in the season opener against nationally ranked Wisconsin and also played against East Carolina, Maryland and Central Florida before suffering a serious knee injury the week leading up to the Pitt game.
He tore both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments simply trying to jump over a blocker laying on the ground. Unfortunately, more than just his knee buckled. His whole career was put on hold. Reconstructive surgery followed a month later and Phillips has been trying to regain his old form ever since.
Initially, everyone involved thought he could make it back in time for the second half of last season, but each time he was tested it was determined that his knee wasn’t strong enough for full clearance.
What was supposed to have been a breakout season in 2004 turned into a lost year.
“I definitely wasn’t prepared for this,” Phillips said. “I thought I’d be back about a year ago. I’ve just got to stay positive and I think things happen for a reason. I am where I am right now and I’m alright with it.”
Even though Phillips was being patient with his rehabilitation, he admits there were times when he was willing to do just about anything to get back to 100 percent.
“I tried just about everything under the sun from taking calcium pills to doing extra work,” he said. “This is one of those things that you just can’t rush. Going through what I’ve gone through I realize you’ve just got to take your time and come back strong. But you have to do it the healthy way and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Phillips realizes patience has also been a two-way street.
“I’ve had tremendous support from the coaches and trainers and our weightlifting coaches,” he said. “They’ve been patient and they know what I can do and that makes me feel good.”
Last spring Phillips was finally given the green light to resume full contact work. He says there were times when he had to re-teach himself how to be an instinctive and physical runner.
“During the spring I learned a lot, reacquainted myself with the plays and all of the things mentally,” he said. “But I have to get stronger and I feel as though I didn’t break as many tackles as I normally would have because of the strength in my legs. That’s the reason why I’m going to be here all summer.”
Phillips is joining a large contingent of players in Morgantown working hard to get ready for the 2005 season. He believes the hard work put forth this summer will pay big dividends for him this fall.
“I feel okay. I’ve still got a ways to go and things to do. I’ve still got to get my leg stronger but so far it’s okay,” he said.
Phillips is a little different than West Virginia’s other runners in that he’s a squatty, straight-ahead, north-south type ball carrier. He may not consistently rip off 80-yard touchdown runs, but he rarely gets thrown for a loss either. That approach is particularly appealing to a coach like Rich Rodriguez who wants to control the game by controlling the ball.
“My main goal is to try and get positive yards every time I get the ball,” Phillips says of his style of running.
Because he has been out so long, Phillips has become somewhat of a forgotten commodity -- something he can't control or pay any attention to.
“I don’t think about stuff like that. I go at my own pace,” he said. “People are going to think what they’re going to think regardless and if I worried about what everyone was thinking I’d be confused and messed up right now. I’m here to play football and unfortunately for me it’s been a tough ride but it will get better.”
A healthy Phillips will add to an already impressive stable of running backs that features an eclectic blend of styles and abilities. Junior Jason Colson and sophomore Pernell Williams each proved that they can carry the ball and also catch it out of the backfield. Phillips has tried to incorporate some of the things they do well into his own game, too.
“We’ve got great backs and I’ve definitely learned something from them each and every day,” he said.
More than anything, Phillips knows his rehabilitation will only be complete when he is finally able to get back out onto the field and just play football again without any worries.
“I just hold onto the old saying that everything happens for a reason and I’ve got to stay positive,” he said. “I definitely miss just suiting up and going out there and not having to worry about favoring my knee or anything like that: just going out there and playing.”
And according to Phillips, playing also means contributing.
“I’m anxious to get some stats,” he said. “I need some stats -- I need some paperwork. That is what I’m anxious to do.”
