Former Maryland Teammates Ready to Learn from Chop

Jordan Phillips and Dante Trader Jr. bring exemplary work ethic to the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins 2025 fifth-round pick Jordan Phillips / Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

Miami Dolphins draft picks met face to face with the media for the first time on the first day of rookie minicamp, and a common theme emerged among the two newcomers who are teammates now for the second time.

Former Maryland Terrapins defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and safety Dante Trader Jr. spent the last two years together in College Park and both know second-year player Chop Robinson, as Robinson spent his first collegiate season (2021) with the Terps.  

Trader said he can utilize having a player he knows like Robinson, who has already been with the Dolphins for a year and gone through some of the rookie ins and outs.

“I said (to Chop), ‘I don’t care if we’re the same age, you’re going to help me figure this whole thing out, because I don’t know anything,’” said Trader, 22, who is just over a month younger than Robinson. “I’m a sponge, so I’m going to be under his wings, under any vet. So that’s the biggest plan, is get a vet, just be a rookie, shut up and work.”

'JUST IMPROVE EACH REP, EACH DAY'

That’s what Phillips answered when asked what he was trying to get accomplished during rookie minicamp. And the stories from Maryland suggest it’s far from lip service.

On long-time Baltimore radio host Glenn Clark’s show, Phillips shared an experience that best illustrates his “just improve each rep” mentality.

Phillips was one of the Terps’ selections to attend Big Ten Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. When he, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley and teammates returned to campus, Phillips went straight to the weight room and called his strength and conditioning coaches to meet him.

They started doing back squats and Phillips was working his way through the mid to high 600-pound range and just kept going. Eventually, he squatted 705 pounds before his coaches shut it down, for fear their top lineman would be injured before the season even started.

At the end of the story, Phillips shared that he still felt like he could go higher that day. And it’s clear that’s just a part of the way he thinks.

SLEDDING ACCIDENTS

On draft night, a story circulated that was tough to confirm that Phillips had been responsible for breaking multiple blocking sleds — that range from $3,000-$5000 — just doing his work in practice.

Trader, however, became a direct source on the topic, leaving no doubt.

“This guy broke like three sleds at the University of Maryland, so that gives you a picture of how strong he is,” Trader said, noting Phillips is “the hardest worker I’ve ever been around.”

LIVING AT THE FACILITY

Phillips is renowned for his hard work, often arriving as early as 5 a.m. to start watching film before lifting in the morning before classes. The Dolphins were well aware, as they struggled to check in on him at times, but were regularly told "he’s probably in the weight room or film room."

“Say we have a 7 a.m. lift,” Trader said about Phillips. “He probably already lifted with the freshman group at 5:30, then joined his group and still watched film. Then stays late night with me and then goes home and does it all over. He sustains it. ‘Working hard’ — we need another category or a word of it. Like, it’s extreme.”

Extreme or not, Phillips enjoys the grind.

“I take a lot of pride in it,” Phillips said. “Obviously, preparation is a key to success, so I always make sure that I’m preparing the right way and part of preparing is working out, taking care of your body and just doing those little things. And I, to the best of my ability, do those things consistently.”

And one of the best things is the former Terps already have been connecting and plotting to work together.

STUDYING TOGETHER

Phillips, Trader and Robinson have all been catching up in their short time together in Miami, and the two newest Dolphins have shown an eagerness to learn.

“We’ve already been (talking) every night,” Trader said of he, Phillips and Robinson. “We’ve already got a plan together that we’re going to go over stuff. (Chop) is teaching us the fronts and things like that and we’re just watching. Just being in the film room together, learning the new NFL process.”

Knowing that Trader played two very physical sports year-round for a few seasons in college almost tells one all they need to know in terms of his work ethic. Maintaining a full-time college schedule while adding full-time football in the fall, transitioning to full-time lacrosse when the season ends, only to rejoin football in the summer for workouts, is rigorous. 

He's a player who, if successful, could take on a few different roles in the Miami defensive backfield, Trader is already preparing like a veteran while knowing he isn’t one.

“I’m a sponge, so I’m going to be under (Chop’s) wings, under any (veteran’s wings),” Trader said. “So that’s the biggest plan, is get a vet, just be a rookie, shut up and work. That’s my mind-set right now.”

Trader has had the same mindset for quite a while, likely what powered him through those years of taking on both football and lacrosse. He credits an old defensive coordinator for his attitude toward work.

“He always preached effort and intensity,” Trader said. “It’s just a standard that we played at, and I was a leader, so I had to do that Monday through (game day). So those are non-negotiables, just running to the ball, and effort. I can control those things, so I always try to do that.”

FOLLOWING FAMOUS FOOTSTEPS

Along with being announced as having signed their rookie deals before the start of minicamp, Dolphins newcomers had their new jersey numbers made public and both former Terps would do well to mimic a few Dolphins alumni who have donned their respective new numbers.

Should Trader come away in 29 looking like cornerback Sam Madison did, the Dolphins will have scored beyond their wildest dreams in drafting him.

And while Phillips can look as recently as Christian Wilkins for an example to follow in wearing 94, he’s probably best to look back to another fellow Maryland and Miami alum — defensive tackle Randy Starks, who played for the Dolphins from 2008-14 and arguably is one of the top free agents the team has ever signed.

If the latest Terrapins-turned-Dolphins keep putting in the work it looks like they’re already accustomed to, it may end up being Miami’s defense that reaps the benefit.

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