| No. 55, 58 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | (1974-11-01)November 1, 1974 (age 50) Gardena, California, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Pius X (CA) | ||||
| College: | UCLA | ||||
| Undrafted: | 1997 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Phillip Eugene Ward (born November 1, 1974) is a formerAmerican footballlinebacker in theNational Football League (NFL) for theIndianapolis Colts,St. Louis Rams andNew Orleans Saints. He also was a member of theBerlin Thunder inNFL Europe. He was signed by theIndianapolis Colts as anundrafted free agent in 1997. He playedcollege football atUCLA.
Ward attendedPius X High School. As a senior, he broke his wrist and only played in 4 games. He also practicedbaseball andbasketball.[1]
He accepted a football scholarship fromUCLA.[2] As aredshirt freshman, he was a backup at linebacker. As a sophomore, he was named a starter atoutside linebacker, tallying 56 tackles (sixth on the team), 7.5 sacks (second on the team) and 12.5 tackles for loss (second on the team).
As a junior, the team changed to a4-3 defense and he became a starter atdefensive end. He was limited with a knee injury and missed 2 games. The change wasn't a good position fit and his stats dropped to 27 tackles and one sack.
As a senior, he was a starter atoutside linebacker, posting 60 tackles (second on the team) and 11 tackles for loss. Against theUniversity of Michigan, he had 8 tackles and 2 interceptions, one of them wasTom Brady's firstcollege football pass, which he returned for a 42-yard touchdown.[3]
Ward was signed as anundrafted free agent by theIndianapolis Colts after the1997 NFL draft. He spent the first 9 games of the season on theinjured reserve list. He was waived on November 4.
On March 26,1998, he was signed as afree agent by theDetroit Lions.[4] He was released on August 30.[5]
On November 30,1998, he was signed to theSt. Louis Ramspractice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on November 30.[6] He was released on December 17. In1999, he was allocated to theBerlin Thunder ofNFL Europe. He registered 39 defensive tackles (second on the team) and 7special teams tackles (led the team). He was released by the Rams on September 3.[7]
On April 7,2000, he was signed as afree agent by theNew Orleans Saints. He was released on August 27.[8] He was signed to thepractice squad. He was later promoted to the active roster. He was released on December 13.[9]