Talented Baylor Signee Wins Significant Award

The awards are starting to come in, and the Baylor Bears are about to get a player on campus who is stacking them in his closet.

The Dallas Morning News has awarded 2025 Baylor signee Jamarion Phillips the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year award.

Phillips was listed as a three-star linebacker and the 145th best player in his class.

His sophomore season saw him rack up 95 tackles, 23 TFLs and 14 sacks, while his team finished as the state runner-up.

His senior season saw Phillips become one of, if not the top player on his defense, and he was a star in his team’s biggest games.

Phillips piled up 13 tackles 2.5 TFL’s and one interception as Oak Cliff won the state championship in a rematch against Richmond Randle.

Baylor’s defense, and notably their coach Dave Aranda, has been able to put together some good defenses as they build around their linebackers.

One player includes former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Devin White, who was a top-5 draft pick after playing for Aranda at LSU.

The hope for Phillips is that he could become an impact player in the way that White was when he was in Baton Rouge with Aranda.

LSU is not the only place where Aranda has worked with linebackers in the past. He did so at Wisconsin as well, and took over defensive play calling duties and was working with inside linebackers last season on campus.

There’s a void at Phillips’ position as well, which could create opportunity for him to find his way to the field sooner than later.

Linebackers Keaton Thomas, Jeremy Evans, KB Winston and Phoenix Jackson will be leaving Waco, creating a depth issue at the position. That could be a spot where Phillips could make his way to a two-deep position on the depth chart.

Can he see the field?

Baylor returns a couple of veteran presences to mentor Phillis, like Travion Barnes and Kyland Reed.

They will be introduced to a new defensive coordinator with Joe Klanderman joining Baylor’s defense after Aranda had to take over play calling last season.

Klanderman’s defense will attack, which should give Phillips and some of the other players on the roster something to be excited about as they could utilize their strengths to take the ball away from opposing ball carriers.

Phillips should be someone who benefits from that, especially as someone who made a living in high school tackling opposing ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage.

Obviously the story of him winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in high school will fade away once he steps onto campus in Waco, but if nothing else, the Bears’ defense should be excited to add another talented player to its linebacker corps.

Can he see the field?

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