Raiders' Phillips takes after dad in a positive way
By Shandel Richardson
Staff Writer
Posted November 26 2004
BELLE GLADE · The smile is almost blinding because the light reflects so brightly off the gold teeth that fill Randy Phillips' mouth.
He can't help but flash a wide grin when talking of the nights he and his father, Randy Sr., head to the back yard. Here, they pop the hood on the cars Dad repairs as a mechanic and "get a little dirty."
"We like to get up under [the hood]," said the younger Phillips, a senior on the Glades Central football team. "Sometimes, at night, we'll just go down and check under the hood for no reason. We'll just be out there talking."
The scene is far from where this father-son relationship began. After getting late starts in each other's lives, their reunion has benefited both.
Phillips, who moved in with his dad at 12, now has a father always within reach. Randy Sr. now has a son who is fulfilling the dreams he once had. The past is forgotten, and the future is looking brighter than that smile.
"We're like best friends now," Phillips said. "When I was born, he was young and still living his life. He was the big dog, had the big car, the big rims. I mean, I'd see him around the city, but I guess he wasn't ready for any kids then."
Hereditary ability
Randy Sr., thinks he could have been everything his son is today. Phillips, who tonight will lead Glades Central against defending champion Miami Monsignor Pace in the Class 3 regional final, has verbally committed to Miami. ESPN.com rates him the 13th-best defensive back in the nation. Despite missing three games with a knee injury, he has 25 tackles and three interceptions. The 6-foot, 180-pound Phillips also leads the Raiders with 564 yards and nine touchdowns, including a 143-yard, two-touchdown performance Nov. 5 against rival Pahokee.
Glades Central coach Larry Coffey says Phillips has one of the best football minds he's seen.
"Last year we had a scout from Nebraska come to see him," Coffey said. "And remember, Nebraska just got a new staff. Randy starts telling him about the defensive backfield and their strengths and weaknesses, and that was probably stuff the coach didn't even know about. He just has really good insight of the game."
Nearly 25 years ago, another Phillips was making similar impressions at Glades Central. Back before recruiting services ranked junior high players, Randy Sr. says his name would have been near or at the top of most lists on recruiting Web sites. He played running back and was a varsity player as a sophomore. They still talk about his punt for a touchdown in the 1979 state championship game against Milton, and Phillips hears about it all the time.
"He was tremendous in [his] own right," said former Glades Central star Jessie Hester, a first-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 1985. "He was probably a lot better than his son is at this point. He just had some things that kept him off the field."
Randy Sr., said, "I think I would've been recruited by lots of colleges. But things just happened."
Like becoming a teenage parent. Randy Sr. dropped out of school before his senior year after he and Phillips' mother, Patricia, had their first child. As so often happens with young fathers, Randy Sr. ran away from responsibility. He provided money every now and then, but was rarely around.
It forced Phillips to grow up in a house without a man. All his uncles were dead. No grandfather was around. It became more difficult when his mother died in 1992 from heart disease.
Phillips did his part to make the load lighter for his grandmother, Lula McKinney, with whom he was living. He accompanied her to the grocery store at all times. He cooked for his siblings when she needed rest.
Although today Phillips has the rugged, hardcore look he's had since junior high and a platinum chain with the words "Big Man" dangling below, he turns sensitive when talking about what was missing in his early life.
"You just wanted that man feeling around, and it wasn't there," Phillips said.
"And my grandmother wasn't able to go to my football games. She'd just pack me up and send me off. I guess, growing up, you just wanted your Dad."
Moving in with Dad
At the time, Phillips began showing his father's genes on the field. Glades Central receiver Jessie Hester Jr., a longtime friend, still watches a tape of Phillips stiff-arming a player to the ground during their youth football days.
"He probably doesn't even know I have it on tape, but I watch it all the time," Hester Jr., said. "He was amazing back then. What we saw then is what everyone is seeing now. He's a competitor."
Randy Sr. made occasional appearances. Phillips remembers the first time his father saw him play as a sixth-grader. He says he noticed Randy Sr. in the stands while returning to the huddle. The next play, he scored on a long touchdown run.
Then in 1998, the weekend visits were no longer an option. Phillips' grandmother died, leaving him with few relatives to turn to. So Phillips and younger brothers Tarus and Calvin moved in with their father. At last.
"It's just helped me so much," Phillips said. "He tells me everything so I don't have to make the same mistakes that he made."
The relationship has grown ever since. Phillips hosts video game parties for teammates at the house. Their fall weekends are planned: Dad attends the Glades Central game Friday, they watch colleges games on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. Typical father-son stuff.
"It was the best thing for us," Randy Sr. said. "It gave me a chance to finally start handling my responsibilities. When I was young, I made some mistakes. I probably wish I could've done some things different, but I had to take care of my business. Now, we're on the right track. He's made me proud. When I see him out there [on the field], he reminds me of myself. You can just tell he's a great athlete."
Last summer, their bond reached its height when Randy Sr. brought his son a car, a 1994 Firebird. And it's a good bet they will be popping the hood out back for years to come.
