Jaelan Everett Phillips (born May 28, 1999) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

outside linebacker for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Phillips played college football at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

for two seasons before medically retiring after 2018 due to sustaining several concussions and other injuries. He then studied music production at the

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...

before transferring to the

Frost School of Music Frost School of Music is the music school at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. From 1926 to 2003, it was known as University of Miami School of Music. Academics and programs The University of Miami's Frost School of Music was on ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

in 2019, where he also returned to football and played for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

. Phillips was drafted by the Dolphins in the first round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 202 ...

Early years,

Phillips was born in Redlands, California, on May 28, 1999, and attended

Redlands East Valley High School Redlands East Valley High School is a public English medium co-educational high school in Redlands, California, United States, near the San Bernardino Mountains. The school opened in the 1997-1998 school year as part of the Redlands Unified Sc ...

, where he finished with 264

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, 31.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three interceptions. Considered the top high-school football prospect from the class of 2017, he received over 20 scholarship offers before committing to

College career

file:Jaelan Phillips.jpg, left, upright=1, Phillips with

in 2017 As a true freshman in 2017, Phillips played in seven games and recorded 21 tackles (seven for loss), 2 pass deflections, and 3.5 sacks. As a sophomore in 2018, he played in four games before a concussion ended his season. After several other injuries, including being hit by a car while riding a

moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds typ ...

, Phillips medically retired from football in December 2018 and enrolled at the

to study music production. In 2019, Phillips transferred to the

at the

with the intent to also play football for the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

. He sat out of the 2019 season due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer rules but started in 2020, finishing with 45 tackles, eight sacks, and an interception. He was named a second-team All-American and All-ACC and was considered a finalist for the

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...

. He chose to forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the

Professional career

Phillips was drafted by the

in the first round (18th overall) of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $14 million, on June 9, 2021.

NFL career statistics

Regular Season

References

External links

*
Miami Dolphins bioMiami Hurricanes bioUCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Jaelan 1999 births Living people American football defensive ends UCLA Bruins football players Players of American football from California Sportspeople from San Bernardino County, California People from Redlands, California Miami Hurricanes football players Los Angeles City College alumni Miami Dolphins players University of Miami Frost School of Music alumni