STARKVILLE — Josiah Phillips’ journey to the Mississippi State football team is almost unbelievable.
A Starkville native, Phillips dreamed of playing for the Bulldogs. But he had a limited football background. He was homeschooled and outside of playing in an eight-man flag football league, he never played organized football. Flag football doesn’t normally translate well into the Southeastern Conference.
But Phillips decided to follow his dreams and walked on to the team in 2014. He began his career as a quarterback, practiced at tight end for a shot time and eventually moved to linebacker, where he has found a home.
Life as a walk-on took a toll on him and his family, but he kept pushing through. Last week, his hard work paid off. He was given a scholarship.
“It means a lot,” Phillips said. “Being a walk-on is really tough because it’s like swimming up stream. You earn everything you get.”
Fellow walk-on linebacker Kelan Chairs also earned a scholarship. Phillips, Chairs and MSU plays host to South Alabama 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3 (SEC Network) to open the season.
Phillips said they had an early morning practice and then had walk-throughs. They had a team meeting at 9 p.m., making a long day that much longer. Phillips said he was tired.
During the meeting, they showed clips highlighting Chairs. Then they showed some of Phillips. They were both called down and they learned right then and there they had earned scholarships.
“I called my mom on FaceTime to where I could see her face and she busted out crying,” Charis said. “She was excited for me. Even my dad and little sister, they were all excited. It was a great feeling. It just gave me chills.
“It means a lot. That’s a big lift. That’s something you can carry in your life forever. You walked on, you earned respect and you earned everything.”
As walk-ons, Phillips and Chairs had to pay for their tuition and weren’t able to eat the food provided to players after practice. That was tough, especially for Phillips.
Phillips has 12 siblings. In the mornings, he would get ready to go to workouts and one of his sisters cooked him breakfast. Sometimes they would pack him a lunch.
Phillips’ older brother Jonathan, who also was a walk-on for the Bulldogs, was paying for his tuition. Jonathan, who is an Army Ranger stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia, was home this week and got to celebrate the memoriable moment with his brother.
But there was one family member who wasn’t there. Josiah lost his father, Randy, to cancer Oct. 2, 2013. His dad was his first thought when he learned he had earned a scholarship.
“I saw him fighting cancer,” Josiah said. “He would be over there on the side of the fence slumped over, trying to stand up. But he’d be out there with me and he’d be running me. I guess that image was stuck in my head.”
Josiah was redshirted in 2014 and played in one game last season. He recorded a tackle against Northwestern State.
Josiah and Chairs aren’t the first walk-ons to earn scholarships. MSU coach Dan Mullen awarded a scholarship to linebacker DeAndre Ward before the 2014 season.
Mullen said it was an easy decision to give Josiah and Chairs scholarships.
“They are two guys that have worked their tail off for the program,” Mullen said. “They take care of their business in the classroom and they take care of their business every day at practice. Never has either one of them been in my office asking, ‘Hey, do I get a scholarship?’ They just showed up and worked every day. If you show up and work every day, good things are going to happen to you in life and that’s what we try to teach all of the guys in our program. It’s an example of it happening first-hand.”
Mullen remembers Jonathan during his time with the Bulldogs. He recalls before school let out for summer one year, Jonathan came to him and said he wasn’t going to be able to make summer workouts. Mullen said that was fine and understood that as a walk-on, he had other priorities. Jonathan told him he was going Ranger school.
“I said, ‘I trust you’ll still be in good shape when you get back for camp,'” Mullen said with a laugh.
Mullen was hoping Josiah was going to be like Jonathan. He was right.
“They’re foxhole guys. If you have to get in a foxhole, those are the guys you want with you. They’re 100 percent committed to doing the best they can every day,” Mullen said.
Chairs walked on during the 2013 season and was redshirted. Playing at St. Augustine High School in Harvey, Louisiana, he knew former MSU defensive lineman Ryan Brown and current MSU quarterback Damian Williams. He said he came for a visit and was blown away.
In two seasons, he has played in 19 games and recorded eight tackles (0.5 for loss). Like with Josiah, being a walk-on took a toll on Chairs.
“I’ve had moments, doubting myself,” Chairs said. “But I just prayed on it and kept going. I didn’t want to give up on the guys.
“You have to keep going, you can’t ever just stop. You can’t get down on yourself, you have to always keep going.”
Josiah never thought about quitting, but he felt like there was going to be a time where he was going to have to step away from football. Financial reasons were a big concern, but if he was to give up football, it was going to come at the end of a season.
“My dad wasn’t a quitter. For me it was a matter of principal. I couldn’t look at my family straight in the eyes if I gave it up like that,” Josiah said.
Josiah has a lot of people rooting him on and a lot of support from a big family. His journey has been full of ups and downs. As he looks back on it, he is happy.
“It was all worth it,” Josiah said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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