Phillip Price
As a DCS Warrior, Price was twice all-state in football and basketball and helped Dillon Christian to the SCISA state title and an 11-2 record. The Warriors made it into playoffs every year Price played. During his high school career, he played tight end, defensive end, and linebacker and in his senior year he had 13 receptions, six touchdowns, 108 tackles, and 11 sacks. As a junior, he had 132 tackles and 14 sacks.
Now at Clemson, Price was the only original walk-on on the Tiger offensive line in the fall. He was red-shirted in 2007, and played two games as a reserve tight end in 2008, playing six snaps against The Citadel and two against South Carolina State. In 2009, Price played in every game on special teams and as a reserve tackle in four of the 14 games.
While is the preparing for the left tackle position, he still has some competition with sophomore Brandon Thomas. But Price has been working hard and after his appearances in 2008, Coach Dabo Swinney moved him to tackle midway through his sophomore year. Last fall he was a backup at both tackles and payed 98 snaps including 22 in start against Wake Forest.
“I think Price has shown with his work ethic, what he’s done in the offseason, that he’s pretty serious about it and he’s ready to challenge to be the guy,” Swinney said.
“He was a very good basketball player in high school,” Swinny continued, “now he’s a 300-pounder that used to be a tight end. So he’s still got more of that athleticism than any of those other guys up front.”
Price himself says that if he could’ve done it differently, “I’d loved to have come in and said I want to be a tackle right off the bat.” He said, “The day coach Swinney and coach Danny Pearman called me in, they told me I’d play more and get on the field faster if I did this. It was fine with me.”
Swinney called Price “a work in progress,” and Price says he’s confident he can do the job, but that he wants to earn it. As part of his preparation, Price has been studying the tackles at the NFL combine and the work of his predecessor, Chris Hairston.
“I look at them,” he said, “and look at how they play and compare myself, see where they’re at and where I need to be, what I need to learn, what I need to change and do what I can to make myself a better player.”
Price has also packed on 40 pounds to his 6’5” frame since he made the switch to tackle. “It was a lot of work, and I had to eat a lot,” he noted.
Coach Swinney says that now “It’s just a matter of if he can handle the big stage. We’re going to see if he can put it all together.”
