A massive man with ‘reckless abandonment’ is the breakout star of Maryland’s ‘UNLOCKED’ season premiere
“[He] is sitting there watching tape.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a kid his age watch as much tape as he does.”
If there was a star of the Season 6 premiere of Maryland football’s “UNLOCKED” documentary series, it was undoubtedly Jordan Phillips.
The redshirt sophomore defensive lineman, in his second year with the Terps after transferring from Tennessee, is a name to know as a potential breakout star. Phillips made Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List” earlier this week, and he was at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis last month. His work ethic was evident in “UNLOCKED.”
Phillip’s spotlight started with a shot of him working out by himself in Jones-Hill House.
“Everyday I gotta look at myself in the mirror, and I gotta ask myself that question, like, did I give today my all?” Phillips said. “But I approach every day with reckless abandonment. And what I mean by that is just like, don’t think about nothing, just give it your all. Nobody in college football will outwork me. And I say that with all humbleness in me. I don’t care who you are, where you from, you know what I’m saying. I’ll make it my personal mission to outwork everybody.”
Another scene showed Phillips walking into the facility at 3:50 a.m. He walked into a room by himself where he would blast music, put on his headphones and lock into film. The specific instance in this episode showed Phillips watching Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
“So usually you get in pretty early, we’ll be around the building in that office in there,” said Chad Wells, the team’s director of technology. “We’re right above the defensive line room, and it’s pretty common to hear music bumping pretty loud in there.
“Jordan Phillips is sitting in there watching tape. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a kid his age watch as much tape as he does.”
Other highlights of the episode included a look back to the Music City Bowl, and an intro where head coach Mike Locksley said the next season starts when the ongoing season’s bowl is announced. The film from the bowl game showed a fiery pregame speech from Brian Williams and the footage from Maryland’s 31-13 win over Auburn.
The episode also featured plenty of the Terp Time offseason program, with a strong message from Locksley and a deserved spotlight of director of football strength and conditioning Ryan Davis.
Top Terps Links
— Get your Maryland men’s basketball season tickets and football season tickets and save money with limited-time promos!
— Want the latest Terps news delivered to your inbox FREE? Sign up for our email newsletter here and stay informed on Maryland basketball, football, recruiting and every other Terps storyline. And make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and Instagram!
— Don’t miss any of our new video Terps content: Subscribe to InsideMDSports on YouTube and hit the notification bell so you know when new videos drop.
— Need a go-to Terps podcast? Listen to IMS Radio here, watch earlier episodes here and don’t forget to subscribe to IMS Radio on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon Music | TuneIn | Apple Podcasts
“We finished the last three years 8-5, 8-5, 7-6. We’re stuck right there. To get to [expletive] 10 wins and make the playoffs, you got to do everything right, man. You got to do everything right. It’s gonna be twice to three times as hard for us to make the playoff. We’ve seen – guys who have been here for the last three years – have seen how hard it is to win [expletive] eight games. It’s hard.
“… You can’t do the same [expletive] and expect a different result. We can’t. We gotta ramp this [expletive] up. Everybody understand that? I’m ready to go.”
Davis said: “The magic is how can I get people to want to do the things that normal people don’t want to do. Like, how can I get ’em to do that?”
