Four-time All-Mountain West linebacker Jason Phillips was one of the most prolific tacklers in program history
39 | LB Jason Phillips (2004-2008)
A two-star quarterback prospect out of Waller, TX, ranked outside the top 1,800 players in the Class of 2004, Jason Phillips would become one of the greatest linebackers in TCU history. Upon arrival in Fort Worth he was transitioned to fullback and redshirted his first season. Ahead of the 2005 season Coach Gary Patterson moved Phillips to the linebacker position where he’d quickly earn the starting role starting all but one game over the next four seasons. Phillips would lead a dominant Horned Frogs defense that would win the Mountain West in 2005 and would win four consecutive bowl games with two finishes ranked in the Top 10. With 315 career tackles, Phillips received All-Mountain West Conference honors all four seasons, three of which were First Team, with a Second Team appearance as a freshman,
Phillips brought a fierce attitude to everything he did with the Frogs, both on and off the field, including promotional photoshoots. As the story goes, wanting a bloody appearance in his photos, Phillips took a plastic cafeteria knife to the bridge of his nose for the 2008 spring marketing campaign “Next Season is Now”
Phillips was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the Fifth Round of the 2009 NFL Draft and would see action in 29 games with the Ravens and Carolina Panthers, recording 31 career tackles. Phillips would serve as a TCU graduate assistant, coaching linebackers in 2016-17 and serving as a defensive analyst for the Horned Frogs in 2018.