'Canes safety is in a hurry
to make NFL impact
Apr/07/08 02:04 AM Filed in:
Kenny
Phillips
One of Kenny Phillips' few
regrets is never meeting the former University of
Miami safety with whom he was so frequently
compared.
Even so, the late Sean Taylor influenced Phillips more
than the former will ever know.
Taylor's killing last November — combined with
the still-unsolved 2006 shooting death of Hurricanes
defensive end Bryan Pata — helped sway Phillips
to turn pro after his junior UM season.
"I don't want to say that kind of had something to do
with my decision, but I thought about it," Phillips
recently said. "I've been dreaming my whole life to get
a chance to play in the NFL and here it is. I didn't
want to lose that opportunity because you never know
what's going to happen."
Phillips is only 21, but he already knows how fleeting
life can be.
The Miami high school Phillips attended (Carol City) is
fed with students from Opa-Locka, a city with one of
the nation's highest rates of violent crime. There is
danger even 18 miles away at UM, which is located in a
far more upscale area of South Florida.
In July 2006, two other UM defensive backs were forced
to defend themselves following a robbery attempt at
their South Miami home. Brandon Meriweather, who now
plays for New England, fired his legally registered gun
three times at a group of assailants after Willie
Cooper was shot in the buttocks.
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