Former college football star Lawrence Phillips has been found dead in a prison cell at the age of 40 years old. Phillips, who was facing the death penalty after being charged for murder, was found dead at Kern Valley State Prison in California. An investigation into the death as a suspected suicide is currently ongoing, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Phillips was a monster college football running back at Nebraska, playing a key role in Nebraska’s dominant championship run in the mid-1990s alongside quarterback Tommy Frazier. The tailback earned All-Big Eight honors in 1994, when the Huskers went undefeated and won a national championship. Phillips became the main offensive weapon for that team as Frazier and backup quarterback Brooks Berringer suffered injuries. He rushed for 1,722 yards to set what still remains a Nebraska rushing record for a sophomore. His performance against Miami in the Orange Bowl helped Nebraska to a 24-17 victory, keeping the Huskers ahead of an undefeated Penn State for the No. 1 spot in the major polls.
But Phillips’ track record took a hard left turn shortly after that championship run. He pleaded not guilty to assault charges and vandalism from an incident the previous March. Later, he was attached to concerns regarding extra benefits from a sports agent during the 1994 season. After a strong start to the 1995 season, Phillips was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend and kicked off the team by Tom Osborne. He was later reinstated by Osborne, and turned pro the following season after Nebraska won a second straight national championship.
Phillips was drafted with the sixth overall draft pick in 1996 by the St. Louis Rams, who also traded Jerome Bettis to Pittsburgh on the same day. Despite all the talent in the world, the Rams lost patience with Phillips in 1997 as tensions between him and head coach Dick Vermeil escalated. From there, Phillips went on a journeyman’s path with the Miami Dolphins, the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe, the San Francisco 49ers and then into the Arena Football League with the Florida Bobcats and the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes and Calgary Stampeders until 2001.
After football, Phillips again got into trouble with the law. In 2005, Phillips was arrested for assault after allegedly driving a car into three teenagers following a pick-up football game in Los Angeles. He had already been wanted by San Diego police in connection with a pair of alleged domestic-abuse incidents. Police in L.A. also wanted him for an alleged domestic-abuse case.
Phillips was sentenced to 10 years in California state prison on Oct. 3, 2008. He received 25 more years in prison on 2009 convictions for assault with great bodily injury, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat and auto theft. In all, the once-promising football star had been sentenced to 32 years, which would have had Phillips locked up until 2040.
Even confined in prison, Phillips could not escape trouble the way he could defenders on the football field. Last April, Phillips’ cellmate Damion Soward was found dead in his cell, allegedly choked to death. Phillips was labeled the prime suspect and he was later charged with first-degree murder of Soward.
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