Friday, June 5, 2009 by: Edward Lee The Baltimore Sun It’s difficult to gauge a player’s effectiveness during an Organized Team Activity because, well, it’s an OTA and not training camp or the regular season. But cornerback Anwar Phillips had a pretty good day during Tuesday’s passing camp.
Phillips hauled in an interception when a Joe Flacco pass bounced off wide receiver Marcus Smith’s hands, deflected away a Troy Smith pass to wide receiver Justin Harper, and broke up Smith’s pass to wide receiver Ernie Wheelwright.
“I’ve had a couple rough weeks in the beginning,” Phillips said. “I just have to start doing things and go back to doing what I was doing before I got here. Just have to focus on the defense and realize what I’m asked to do and just got out there and just play.”
Phillips’ future with the Ravens is unclear. With Fabian Washington, Domonique Foxworth, Samari Rolle, Frank Walker, Chris Carr and rookie third-round pick Lardarius Webb appearing to have cemented the first six cornerback spots, it would seem that Phillips is competing with Derrick Martin and Evan Oglesby for what might be one or two spots on the team.
After signing with the Ravens at the beginning of training camp last summer, Phillips was cut and re-signed by the organization four different times. Phillips said he has grown accustomed to the sport’s yo-yo nature.
“That’s the NFL,” he said. “Every day, you’ve got to work because you don’t know when it’s your last. Be grateful every day for the chance to get up and the opportunity to play. You just hope that your play gets you to the next day and the next day and the end of the season.”
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'; output += 'March 17, 2009 The Gazette by: John Y. Wehmueller Victimized by a house-cleaning of the Syracuse (N.Y.) University football program at the end of last season, former Northwest head coach Randy Trivers landed his second college coaching job last week.
On March 5, Rutgers (N.J.) University announced it had hired Trivers as its running backs coach, the same position he held for two seasons at Syracuse. He was on the job that day, when the Scarlet Knights opened spring practice.
“It’s been fast and furious,” Trivers said. “It’s my job to make sure the running back position continues to be productive for this program, and to enhance the productivity of that group, as far as all the things running backs are asked to do.”
Trivers is a former running back himself, having played at both Sherwood High and the College of the Holy Cross (Mass.), which plays in NCAA Division I-AA. After graduation, he became a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland before becoming Northwest’s first-ever varsity football coach when the school opened in 1998.
In nine seasons at Northwest, Trivers’ teams went 73-27 and made the playoffs six times. His only losing season was his first, when a team with no seniors went 2-8. The Jaguars went 9-2 the following year, and went on to win the Class 3A state championship in 2004.
After an undefeated regular season and 4A West Region championship two years later, Trivers made the jump back to the college level, signing on to coach the Orangemen backs under Greg Robinson. The team went 5-19 during Trivers’ two seasons in Syracuse, and the entire staff was let go.
“It’s not easy when you’re in a situation where it’s an unknown, you don’t know where you’re going to land,” Trivers said. “Fortunately for me, I landed at a fantastic program with a highly successful head coach in Greg Schiano.”
There was some speculation within the county that Trivers might return to the high school sidelines, speculation that only increased after his successor at Northwest, Andrew Fields, stepped aside after two seasons.
“I certainly will always look fondly upon my time as a high school football coach,” Trivers said. “Right now, my priority is trying to be as good as I can be as a college football coach.”
One of Trivers’ new running back charges is junior Jourdan Brooks, a former rival from Seneca Valley. Trivers said he did not know Brooks well when each was plying his trade in Germantown. That was not the case with junior safety Joe Lefeged, a member of Trivers’ final Northwest team in 2006.
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'; output += 'Former Northwest standout readies for shot at professional football January 28, 2009 The Gazette by: Dan Greenberg The adage “good things come to those who wait” has been the story of Dewayne Whitaker’s life. For the 2003 Northwest alumnus, success has never come quickly.
But it’s always come.
Now, after being drafted in the first round by the Georgia Stallions of the new United National Gridiron League, Whitaker is again taking the road less traveled. With his professional career slated to begin Feb. 8, the Germantown native is ready to make the most of his first big break, one for which he’s waited for over a year.
“It’s been a lot of ups, a lot of downs,” said Whitaker, 23, a four-year starting cornerback at Hofstra (N.Y.) University before graduating in 2007. “But I’m just thanking God for the opportunities I have. I’m anxious to show if you can play, you can play.”
At Northwest, he was “a late bloomer” according to former assistant coach Andrew Fields. He started as a junior and captained the team as a senior, but first began turning heads the following summer at the 2003 Maryland Football Coaches Association East vs. West Senior All-Star Game. In a showcase for the state’s top college recruits, Whitaker’s star shined brightest in the eyes of many.
“That was the first time me and Mr. [Randy] Trivers mentioned the word ‘pro’ with Dewayne,” recalled Fields. “A few of the coaches were talking about how every all-star game has a few marquee guys, but who would be the one that might wind up in the NFL, and the name we came away with was Dewayne’s. They say Steady Eddie wins the race and that’s what he was. He was one of those guys who you didn’t see too much at first but just has a steady upward curve from freshman to senior year.”
The first real test of his mettle came in his second year at Hofstra, when he blew out the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, forcing him to redshirt the 2004 season. Though he immediately grabbed back his starting job in the Pride’s defensive backfield in 2005, Whitaker said he didn’t feel 100 percent again until his senior year. At least, mentally.
“My rehab was actually only for six months and I was basically running full speed again, but it wasn’t just my knee getting back to what it was,” he said. “Even though I wasn’t hurting and running just as fast if not faster, me being away from football for a whole year made it hard to get my instincts back. … A lot of guys come back afraid to make that cut, to ever really test their knee out. Once you fully test it and you realize, ‘I’m back,’ that’s the biggest hurdle.”
Whitaker’s final career hurdle will be his most difficult, however. After his senior season, 2007, Whitaker earned workouts with several National Football League teams, including the Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.
He essentially travelled North America seeking a roster spot, earning a three-day workout with the Columbus Destroyers of the now-suspended Arena Football League and another with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League.
He found out that his alma mater — a Division I-AA school, the level below I-A — often made more of an imprint than his performance. But the story of his college roommate, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, gives him faith that his day will come.
“I was the cover corner, he was the go-to guy,” Whitaker said. “I still talk to Marques very week. He was the [fourth] to last pick of the draft and only because of his size. No one gave him a chance. People slept on his ability to play football, and now look at him; one of the best receivers in the game.”
Whitaker came back to his roots this past year, serving as Northwest’s JV defensive coordinator and working with the varsity defensive backs. But he isn’t ready to give up the game on the field.
On the contrary, if you ask him, his career’s just getting started. His track record is all the evidence he needs.
“On [the Stallions], there are only like one or two DI-AA guys and the rest are D-I,” Whitaker said. “This league is supposed to be an opportunity to get a fair chance. It’s not going to be political. So when I get my chance against these guys that are supposed to be better than me because they’ve played in bowl games, I want to show I’m better. I think I can play for a long time.”
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