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Lawrence Lamond Phillips (born May 12, 1975) is a former professional American football and Canadian football running back. A two time college football national champion at the University of Nebraska, Phillips' career was overshadowed by his inability to stay out of trouble off the field. Arrested several times during the course of his life, Phillips is now an inmate at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California where he is serving a seven-year term for felony assault with a deadly weapon and is set to serve an additional twenty-five years once that sentence elapses for a domestic assault on his girlfriend. He has also been charged with the murder of his former cellmate, Damion Soward.〔〔(ESPN - Phillips couldn't outrun off-the-field troubles - NFL )〕 ==Early life and career== Phillips was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, but moved to California where he grew up in foster homes. He attended West Covina High School in West Covina, California for his freshman and sophomore years. He was a varsity starter both on offense as a running back and defense as an outside linebacker. He then attended Baldwin Park High School in Baldwin Park, California for his junior and senior years, winning back-to-back CIF Championships which attracted the attention of the University of Nebraska. In 1993, his freshman year at Nebraska, Phillips gradually worked his way up the player ranks. He came off the bench to rush for 137 yards and a touchdown in the Huskers' 14-13 win at Pac-10 champion UCLA. In the second half of the 1994 Orange Bowl, he sparked the Huskers' ground game, carrying 13 times for 64 of the 183 rushing yards against a formidable Seminole defense. All but one of Phillips's carries came in the fourth quarter, during which he scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. This game established him as the primary running back in the Nebraska offense. By his sophomore year, Phillips became the focal point of the offense because of injuries to quarterbacks Tommie Frazier and Brook Berringer. Phillips tied a school record by rushing for 100 yards or more in 11 straight games in 1994 despite frequently playing against eight or nine-man defensive fronts. Against the #3 Miami Hurricanes, Phillips had 96 yards on 19 carries, including a 25-yard run that was the longest rushing play the Hurricanes had allowed all season. During the regular season, Phillips ran for 1,722 yards, still a Nebraska record for a sophomore. Phillips's performance in the Orange Bowl that year was key to Nebraska's securing its undefeated season and the National Championship in 1994. Less than two weeks after Phillips helped Nebraska secure the 1994 national Championship, he pled not guilty to charges of assault and vandalism dating to an incident in March 1994.〔Husker Pleads Not Guilty, New York Times, January 12, 1995, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/13/sports/husker-pleads-not-guilty.html〕 Though Phillips was formally charged on November 18, having failed to complete the requirements of the pretrial diversion program, the hearing was delayed until after Phillips participated in the rivalry game against Oklahoma and the important Orange Bowl game to secure the National Championship. Shortly before the start of the next season, Phillips eligibility was in question for receiving a $100 lunch from a sports agent during the 1994 season.〔But Is Phillips Still Eligible?, New York Times, August 27, 1995, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/27/sports/college-football-95-but-is-phillips-still-eligible.html〕 When Nebraska officials became aware of the violation, Phillips allegedly reimbursed the agent. The NCAA ruled Phillips eligible just in time for the season opener, but continued to investigate other unspecified issues involving Phillips.〔Nebraska's Phillips Can Play, New York Times, August 30, 1995, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/30/sports/sports-people-college-football-nebraska-s-phillips-can-play.html〕 When the 1995 season finally arrived, Phillips became an early front-runner for the Heisman Trophy. In Nebraska's second game of the season against Michigan State, Phillips had 206 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on 22 carries. After only two games, he was averaging more than 11 yards per carry and had scored six touchdowns. Phillips was arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Kate McEwen, a basketball player for the Nebraska women's team, and was subsequently suspended by head coach Tom Osborne. The case became a source of controversy and media attention, with the perception arising that Osborne was coddling a star player by not kicking Phillips off the team permanently. Osborne walked out on a press conference when asked "If one of your players had roughed up a member of your family and had dragged her down a flight of steps, would you have reinstated that player to the team?"〔Touchy Touchy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 1, 1995, pg 15〕 Outraged Nebraska faculty proposed that any student convicted of a violent crime be prohibited from representing the university on the football field.〔An End-Around Attack, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 30, 1995, pg 24〕 Osborne defended the decision, saying that abandoning Phillips might do more harm than good, stating the best way to help Phillips was within the structured environment of the football program.〔The Corn In Nebraska Is Rotten, New York Times, April 21, 1996, http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/21/sports/sports-of-the-times-the-corn-in-nebraska-is-rotten.html〕 Osborne reinstated Phillips for the Iowa State game,〔Huskers Phillips in Limbo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 3, 1995, pg 22〕 although touted freshman Ahman Green continued to start. Phillips also played against Kansas and Oklahoma. Despite pressure from the national media, Osborne named Phillips the starter for the Fiesta Bowl, which pitted No. 1 Nebraska against No. 2 Florida for the national championship. In the game, Phillips rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries and scored a touchdown on a 16-yard reception in the Cornhuskers' 62-24 victory. The performance boosted Phillips's draft stock. With Osborne's encouragement, he decided to turn pro a year early. Notes - Statistics include bowl game performances. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lawrence Phillips」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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