Image via CBS Sports
In news that really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, Oklahoma defensive tackle Jordan Phillips has announced he will be declaring for the 2015 NFL Draft.
Thanks for your support sooner nation it's been a fun ride! pic.twitter.com/yeBWTwYByY
— Jordan Phillips (@Bigphil9797) December 30, 2014
Despite being awarded an additional year of eligibility prior to this past season, Phillips has dealt with multiple injuries — most notably one involving his back that required surgery — during his time in Norman. And for a man of his size, with his immense physical gifts, if you have an opportunity to start earning that NFL money, it’s hard for anyone to make a legitimate argument against doing so.
Phillips will certainly be missed in this middle of this defense next season, but I’m sure I am not alone in wishing him a long and successful NFL career.
70 Comments
good luck young man, wish you only the best.
He should. Hope he does well at the next level
Well I hope orso and romar are ready they got big shoes to fill.
“BIG” being the most appropriate word there!!!!!
Romar played well this year in his place. I imagine an offseason of getting #1 snaps will make him a formitable replacement.
Best wishes to him
hate to see this but it’s the right choice. Hope he has a great NFL career.
It’s the right choice. He wasn’t going to improve his stock playing on this Keystone Cop defense and no sense risking injury.
Good luck Jordan !
Wish him the best in the league!
He won’t be the last player to declare this year.
I’m expecting a few more.
Bird…………can’t think of any other underclassman who distinguished himself enough to leave college early……………
Tapper is the only other person I could see now that Striker is staying
Tapper needs more polish, it would benefit him to stay. If he were to leave, it would be a late round at best. He could really improve his stock next year under a different defensive scheme and DC leadership.
I agree completely. I’m just not sure there’s anyone else who would declare. I’m not even counting DGB because I don’t really consider him part of the team.
Tapper is still very raw… Even his stance looks bad at times.
Two year underclassmen starters coming off a very disappointing season.
I wouldn’t blame them leaving.
Zach Sanchez
Eric Striker (I don’t think he really meant he was coming back)
Charles Tapper
DGB
Outside of DGB, the others would be low rounders at best. Striker needs to get bigger, Sanchez needs to improve his overall game which include tackling and Tapper needs more experience.
I never considered DGB to be a part of this team. He just hung out for six months.
Agree, He just wanted to be around awesome coaching to see what real coaches were like?
In all honesty I don’t know how OU thought his possible playing for OU would outweigh the PR hit of taking him on. This seemed very much a Norvell push with Bibs backing.
Already has the skills, if Norvell didn’t cause him to regress. Just needed a place to workout.
Everybody is coming back except DGB, who i dont consider on the team.
Best of luck Jordan. Wishing you the best!
Wish him the best. We’ve got some big shoes to fill there but our front end is the least of our worries.
Good luck Jordan
Good for him! Now we got to develop the talent pool that’s there. Wade played significant minutes against Clemson, Romar seems a bit light, but Overton seems tough.
Good for him. Bad for us.
Thank you Jordan Esco! Thank you Jordan Phillips! Continued success to everyone! If healthy another potential 1st rd Drafted Sooner!
The right decision for him. Don’t think he would have improved his stock much, if any, staying another year. Excited for him and hope he does great at the next level. Excited to see the new guys step up.
A good move on his part. I would have loved it if he would have stayed. But with his back issues the kid only has 3 -4 years of football left in him. Make the money while you can.
The Atlanta Falcons are your name!!!
Yes! Unfortunately with Hageman being drafted in the second round of last year’s draft, they’ll be looking for DE’s. Didn’t expect to see another Falcons fan.
……can’t blame him……does that mean he probably got some decent news on his draft position
Sounds like at least one service gave him a 1st round grade.
hope he makes a NFL roster and has a nice career..wish him well…………….
Best of luck to the young man!
May God grant you many years of health and football!
At least Charles Walker looked good last night…. We will need him next year
Charles Walker is a DE, not a nose Guard in this scheme.
Technically He is, but if you look at the roster, he looks like the best option to replace Phillips. I think it will be a NT by committee next year until someone separates themselves.
If you look at the roster, it looks like Romar is the best option considering he was the backup there and played well, also Montgomery has raved about him.
Well crud! Good decision by the big man. Wish him nothing but good luck at the next level .
Kick ass Big Guy!! Thanx for your support of our much loved program.
Please go to Chicago!
i would like to see him in a Bears uniform too, but the way they draft I expect da bears to pick a waterboy or some random guy that jumps out of a swimming pool on youtube with their first, second, or third round picks.
Hate to see him go but I think this is a wise decision because what he has been through. I would love to see him play for Dallas but wish him the very best wherever he goes.
Congrats! Come join the “Pot Roast” in Denver!
We really don’t have a huge nose guard to replace him with. Does that mean back to a 4-3?
Don’t need a huge guy, just someone who can eat up double teams and not be moved against his will, freeing up the middle linebackers behind him to do work unempeeded.
Romar is a high motor kid and looked good at times as a frosh. Looking forward to him and Wade and seeing what Big ‘O’verton brings next year. Have others, like Orso.
Good luck to the young man. Hope his back holds up bc he is very very talented. I would have liked to see what he would have done as an OT.
Best of luck in the draft. Hope you go high in the 1st or to the team you’d like to play for. Thanks for coming to OU.
He’d be great for the Green Bay Packers!!!!!!
As an owner, I’ll abide it.
Best wishes and good luck, Jordan.
Enjoyed watching you play as a Sooner.
Since I don’t do the NFL I’m sorry I will never see your imposing image pushing Centers around again.
you live fb……….don’t watch the nfl at all?
I do love football. For me the NFL is just Hollywood and is just as morally bankrupt.
I agree with the concept, but free agency killed it for me. The $$$ is ridiculous and the carousel of players caused me to lose interest. Rarely watch the nfl or baseball and never the nba.
There are very few professional sports I actually have any interest in anymore.
So instead of guys actually getting paid to do their craft, you prefer college football where you aren’t supposed to get paid yet there are factions of programs around the nation that do in fact pay their players? Odd. Seems to me like the NFL is the one being truthful, and college football is the morally corruct one. But to each their own I guess.
It isn’t supposed to be that way and hasn’t been that way for long but, you are correct in it is going that way and I might quit watching cfb, too.
If they go to the NFL and make a good living I’m happy for them, I just won’t contribute to it.
The reason I love high school and college football is because only 1% of the players at each of those levels will play at the next, which means 99% of the high school and college players are doing it for reasons I do support.
The NFL is a morally bankrupt organization, rotten to the core. I could give you reasons going back to when they convinced the AFL to merge with them, but will give a contemporary example.
After the NFL reinstated Michael Vick(big surprise, that) and he signed with the Iggles, the very next day on a NFL merchandise web page you could buy anything with Vick’s name as an Iggle, including a dog sweater. There it was, an image of the most beautiful AKC example of a Golden Retriever ever seen, wearing Vick’s jersey.
The NFL will never get a penny from me, much less the $19.99 they wanted for that dog sweater.
I lost interest when Montana, Rice, and Lott retired.
Show me his great plays he had this year, and I’ll show you as many and more where he gave little to no effort and quit on plays…. guy has all American talent with the motor equivalent to a battery powered power wheels car…
WAT
I’m guessing you’ve never had back problems?
Lol you are excusing his motor as back problems? That’s why in consecutive plays he could keep his feet moving and the other not? I’m a physical therapist and understand injuries and the rehabilitation process so don’t try to patronize me…
best of luck to JP….no reason to chance another injury when he can play for pay in the NFL.. with OU struggling, Phillips is leaving a ‘sinking ship’ at the right time…..
I hate to agree with you because you are so delusional but you might be right.to make matter’s worst we are losing are best player on defense in jordan phillips the ship might be sinking .
Good luck lad….. But IMO you’re not ready.