To help commemorate the 20-year anniversary of Purdue's magical turnaround 1997 season, GoldandBlack.com's staff will break up the rosters and select the best players to wear a Boilermaker uniform since Coach Joe Tiller's first season on the sidelines.
GoldandBlack.com's 20-year Purdue player draft will have 100 players chosen — two picks each day over the next 10 weeks. Boilermakers who were on the Purdue roster between 1997-2017 are eligible for selection. The draft order is Alan Karpick, Stacy Clardie, Kyle Charters and Brian Neubert.
Charters is up at No. 7 with his second pick ...
My defense needs a playmaker.
And at No. 7, it's shocking to me that perhaps the best in the last 20 years is still on the board. That's why it's a no-brainer for me to take defensive end Shaun Phillips (although I did briefly flirt with the idea of an offensive lineman).
How is Phillips the third D-end picked? Wow, telling of Purdue's depth there. An argument could be made that we should be prioritizing other positions first, ones where the depth drops significantly after the first few players. But I think teams, and defenses in particular, are built around guys who can make plays. And Phillips could absolutely do that.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder was the best player on Purdue's best defense of the last 20 years, when in 2003 he had 14.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss while being named a second-team All-American. Phillips was relentless, perhaps best illustrated in the last game of his career. With Georgia trying to run out the clock at the end of the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2004, Phillips chased down the Bulldog running back, then stripped the ball away to create a turnover. It was the Boilermakers' only chance at a win — they trailed by three with less than a minute left — and Phillips delivered, helping Purdue tied the game when Ben Jones hit a 44-yard field goal.
Phillips came up big throughout his career. While making 49 career starts, Phillips finished his Purdue tenure with 33.5 sacks, second all-time, and 60.5 tackles for loss, which ranks third in program history. He recovered seven fumbles in his career, tied for a program record, and had a Purdue-best (tie) four in 2001, plus he forced nine fumbles, including four as a senior. Phillips even had 23 pass breakups, which ranks tied for 17th, impressive for a defensive lineman.
Look, the numbers speak for themselves. But his play did so even more. It was non-stop pursuit of the football, whether it be with the quarterback or elsewhere. And if you want to built a defense in the mold of one player, a leader who never backed down, Phillips is the guy.
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