Syracuse Football: Get To Know Your Orange Man - #62 Andrew Phillips

Yep, it's that time again. Last year we counted down every SU football player from Chandler Jones (#99) to Phil Thomas (#1), as you can see here. Well both of those guys (and a few more in between) are gone and it's time to profile the entire 2012 Syracuse Orange football roster starting with the highest number and working out way down. Let's get to it...

Name: Andrew Phillips

Position: Offensive Tackle

Year: Senior

Height: 6'6"

Weight: 279

Hometown: Phoenix, NY

High School: Christian Brothers Academy

2011 Stats: Andrew (what a fantastic name) played in eight games this past season for the Orange, which unfortunately was a step back from 2010. In his sophomore season, he got into 12 games for Syracuse and started once against Louisville. Both seasons, Phillips saw most of his action on special teams.

2012 Projections: In a weird twist of fate, Phillips finds himself backing up center Macky MacPherson instead of on the outside of the line. Justin Pugh is obviously hurt, but the left tackle position currently has no backups behind Kristofer Curtis. More than likely, Phillips will once again see all his time on special teams with a spot start in case McPherson goes down with injury.

How'd he get here? By car I'm assuming, since he's a local kid. Phillips was ranked 10th overall in the State of New York and was on the Orange radar for a while. He attracted interest from Pitt, BC and Clemson while Buffalo, Cuse and UCF gave him official offers. He wound up picking the Orange.

Scouts/Rivals: Both said 2 stars.

Money Quote: Phillips is a good guy. Here's what he first felt when an injury to Ian Allport forced Andrew to start for the Orange:

At first I kind of got a sick feeling in my stomach because I saw him grab his knee. I just felt so bad for him.

Links of Wonder: Here's a nice Post Standard piece about Phillips' only career start with the Orange.

Doug Marrone Thinks... To change it up from last year, here's what Marrone thinks about what Phillips brings from a recruiting aspect:

Just like I said before, I wish we could get 15 kids right around this area so all of a sudden I don't have to wait in airports, I don't have to take three planes, I don't have to fly all over the country. I can get them all right here in this community. This is someone who's going to help us bring our players back out to the community. Andrew will help us bridge that.

Nugget O'Intrest: Andrew was part of a recruiting class that built the Orange for this year. Shamarko Thomas, Justin Pugh, Alec Lemon, Rishard Anderson and Zack Chibane, and Charley Loeb (not so much) highlight the group. If Andrew does become a starter, this class should well exceed expectations.

Let's get a good look atchya: I can't seem to find any highlights on YouTube or video of Phillips anywhere, but here's a link to perhaps the best picture EVER of Phillips and Marrone sharing a moment.