Lawrence Phillips Lawrence Lamond Phillips ( born May 12 , 1975 ) is a former professional American football and Canadian football running back . Phillips ' s trouble with the law and inability to produce in the NFL have led many critics to label him as a bust . Early life and career . Phillips was born in Little Rock , Arkansas , but by his teen years had made his way to Southern California , spending most of them in a foster home . He attended West Covina High School in West Covina , California for his freshman and sophomore years . He was a varsity starter both on offense , running back and defense , outside linebacker as a sophomore . He attended Baldwin Park High School in Baldwin Park , California for his junior and senior years , winning back - to - back CIF Championships . His sterling numbers attracted the attention of the University of Nebraska . In 1993 , his freshman year at Nebraska , Phillips gradually worked his way up the depth chart . He came off the bench to rush for 137 yards and a touchdown in the Huskers ' 14 - 13 win at Pac - 10 champion UCLA . In the second half of the 1994 Orange Bowl against Florida State , Phillips again came off the bench and sparked the Huskers ' ground game , carrying 13 times for 64 of the Huskers 183 rushing yards against a formidable Seminole defense . All but one of Phillips ' s carries came in the fourth quarter , and he also scored on a 12 - yard touchdown run . The game established him as the primary running back in the Nebraska offense . By his sophomore year , Phillips became the focal point of the offense because of injuries to quarterbacks Tommie Frazier and Brook Berringer . Phillips tied a school record by rushing for 100 yards or more in 11 straight games in 1994 despite frequently playing against eight - or nine - man defensive fronts and fighting a thumb injury . Phillips ' s performance in the Orange Bowl was key to Nebraska ' s securing its undefeated season and national championship in 1994 . Against the Miami Hurricanes , who had the top - rated defense in college football that year ( with future NFL Pro Bowlers Warren Sapp and Ray Lewis ) , Phillips had 96 yards on 19 carries , including a 25 - yard run that was the longest rushing play the Hurricanes had allowed all season . During the regular season , Phillips ran for 1 , 722 yards , still a Nebraska record for a sophomore . The following year , Phillips became an early front - runner for the Heisman Trophy . During the Huskers ' win over Michigan State in their second game of the season , Phillips had 206 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on 22 carries . After two games on the season , he was averaging more than 11 yards per carry and had scored six touchdowns . After the team had returned from East Lansing , Michigan , Phillips was arrested for assaulting his ex - girlfriend , Kate McEwen , a basketball player for the Nebraska women ' s team . Phillips was subsequently suspended from the Husker football team by head coach Tom Osborne . The case became a source of great controversy and media attention , with perceptions arising that Osborne was coddling a star player by not kicking Phillips off the team permanently . Osborne defended the decision , saying that abandoning Phillips might do more harm than good . In Osborne ' s view , the best way to help Phillips was within the structured environment of the football program . Osborne reinstated Phillips for the Iowa State game , although touted freshman Ahman Green continued to start . Phillips also contributed against Kansas and Oklahoma . Osborne , despite pressure from the national media , named Phillips the starter for the Fiesta Bowl , which pitted No . 1 Nebraska against No . 2 Florida for the national championship . In the game , Phillips rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries and also scored a touchdown on a 16 - yard reception in the Cornhuskers ' 62 - 24 victory . The performance boosted Phillips ' s draft stock . With Osborne ' s encouragement , he decided to turn pro a year early . Professional football career . St . Louis Rams . With his strong performance , Phillips was drafted sixth overall in the 1996 NFL Draft by the St . Louis Rams despite his considerable character issues ; several teams with higher picks let it be known that they passed on him due to his off - the - field troubles . He was widely expected to be selected by the new Baltimore Ravens with the fourth pick to fill their vacant running back position . However , they decided to select the best available player regardless of position and selected future eleven time pro - bowler Jonathan Ogden . During the draft , ESPN analyst Joe Theisman stated in regard to Phillips : " Everybody ' s called him the best player in the draft . " The Rams thought so highly of Phillips that on the same day of the draft , they traded his predecessor , Jerome Bettis , to the Pittsburgh Steelers . On July 29 , 1996 , Phillips signed a three - year $ 5 . 625 million contract . He received no signing bonus but his salaries were $ 1 . 5 million in 1996 , $ 1 . 875 million in 1997 and $ 2 . 25 million in 1998 . Also , he had a chance to receive some guaranteed money in the future if he met certain conditions . The off - field troubles that plagued him at Nebraska resurfaced in St . Louis ; in less than two years with the Rams , he spent 23 days in jail . In 1996 Phillips played 15 games with 11 starts . He carried the ball 193 times for 632 yards for 4 touchdowns . In 1997 , Phillips surpassed his entire 1996 total in only 10 games and nine starts , rushing for 634 yards . However , on November 20 , the Rams lost patience with him and released him . According to Rams team officials , coach Dick Vermeil had told Phillips that he was being demoted to second string due to his inconsistent performance ( even though he was on pace for a 1 , 000 - yard season ) and inability to stay out of trouble . Phillips stormed out of the Rams ' facility , and missed that day ' s meeting and practice . A teary - eyed Vermeil at the time called Phillips potentially the best running back he had ever coached . The decision to unload Bettis to make room for Phillips would haunt the Rams for several years ; while Bettis went on to become one of the cornerstones of the Steelers franchise for the next decade , the Rams would not have a true feature back until Marshall Faulk ' s arrival in 1999 . Miami Dolphins . Phillips then moved on to the Miami Dolphins for two games , running for only 44 yards on 18 carries for a 2 . 4 yard - per - carry average . The Dolphins released him after he pleaded no contest to assaulting a woman in a Plantation , Florida nightclub . NFL Europe . Phillips missed the 1998 season before attempting a comeback in 1999 ; he set NFL Europe offensive records with the Barcelona Dragons ( 1 , 021 yards and 14 TDs ) and attracted interest from several NFL teams . San Francisco 49ers . Phillips returned stateside with the San Francisco 49ers in the Fall of 1999 . The 49ers interviewed him several times before seemingly being assured he ' d put his past difficulties behind him , though general manager Bill Walsh told him that the 49ers wouldn ' t hesitate to cut him if he stepped out of line . He was in contention for the starting job before pulling a hamstring in training camp . Additionally , his blocking left much to be desired . He was beaten out for the starting slot by Charlie Garner . He did , however , become the 49ers ' primary kick returner . Although Phillips stayed out of trouble off the field , his on - field performance was of greater concern to the 49ers . His blocking skills were so suspect that he was almost never in the game on passing downs . Their concerns were validated during a Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals , when cornerback Aeneas Williams rushed in on a blitz and Phillips failed to pick it up . Williams ended up knocking Steve Young unconscious on the play with a hard , but clean , hit . Young suffered a severe concussion that effectively ended his career ; he didn ' t play again for the rest of the season and was all but forced to retire . In the same game , Phillips ran for a 68 - yard touchdown to put the game away 24 - 10 , outrunning Williams to the end zone . Nonetheless , his missed block on Williams led the 49ers to question his work ethic . By November , Phillips was showing signs of slipping back into his old ways . According to coach Steve Mariucci , Phillips began losing interest early in the season , to the point that he was finding " reasons and ways why he shouldn ' t practice . " The situation came to a head in the run - up to the 49ers ' game against the New Orleans Saints . Phillips refused to practice at all on November 10 and November 12 , and openly mocked coaching directives . Mariucci called a meeting with his staff , at which Phillips ' position coach , Tom Rathman ( coincidentally , a fellow Cornhusker ) , told Mariucci that he was at his wit ' s end with Phillips . Rathman even threatened to stay in San Francisco if Phillips made the trip . That night , the 49ers handed Phillips a three - game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team . By this time , Walsh and Mariucci had finally had enough . Walsh said soon after Phillips was suspended that he could not envision Phillips playing another down for the 49ers . On November 16 , Mariucci announced that the 49ers would cut ties with Phillips at the first opportunity . In making the announcement , Mariucci said that the only reason the 49ers didn ' t release Phillips right away was that his entire signing bonus would have counted against the team ' s salary cap for 1999 , thus tying up nearly all of their cap room . Finally , on November 23 , the 49ers waived him . AFL and CFL . In 2001 , Phillips signed with the Florida Bobcats of the Arena Football League . He never played a down for them , however ; he was released after leaving the team without telling his coach . Phillips then moved on to the Canadian Football League . He had some difficulty getting a Canadian work visa due to his criminal record , but was eventually cleared to join the Montreal Alouettes . He showed signs of his old form , notching 1 , 022 yards , 13 touchdowns and a spot on the CFL Eastern All - Star Team while helping lead them to the 90th Grey Cup . However , he was not exactly a model citizen ; he walked out on the team at least once during the season and his agent severed ties with him twice . He briefly held out of training camp before the 2003 season due to a salary dispute . On May 1 , shortly after his return , the Alouettes released him for not meeting the team ' s " minimum behavioural standards . " It later emerged that he ' d been charged with sexual assault . Phillips signed with the Calgary Stampeders ( rushing for 486 yards on 107 carries and 1 TD ) , but was again released for arguing with head coach Jim Barker . After football . On August 21 , 2005 , Phillips was arrested for assault after allegedly driving a car into three teenagers , following a dispute with the teens during a pick - up football game in Los Angeles , California . At the time of the arrest , Phillips was wanted by the San Diego , California , police in connection with two alleged domestic abuse incidents involving a former girlfriend , who claimed that Phillips choked her to the point of unconsciousness during one of the incidents . In addition , the Los Angeles Police Department was seeking Phillips in connection with yet another , separate domestic abuse allegation that had occurred previously in Los Angeles . In March , 2006 , the Associated Press reported that Phillips had been ordered to stand trial on felony assault with a deadly weapon charges stemming from the August 21 , 2005 , incident . The assigned judge dismissed two counts of child abuse and one count of leaving the scene of an accident , but continued the trial on the more serious charges . On October 10 , 2006 , Phillips , was found guilty of seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon . On October 3 , 2008 , Phillips was sentenced to 10 years in a California state prison . While serving that sentence , Philips was convicted in August 2009 for the assault on his then - girlfriend on seven counts , including assault with great bodily injury ; false imprisonment ; making a criminal threat ; and auto theft . For the latter conviction , Phillips faced 25 years in prison when he was sentenced in November 2009 . On December 18 , 2009 , Phillips was sentenced to 25 years in prison on the 2009 convictions , to run consecutive to the 2008 sentence ( which was reduced to just under 7 years ) , for a term of more than 31 years . Phillips , California Department of Corrections # G31982 , was admitted to the CDCR on October 16 , 2008 . Currently , Phillips is incarcerated at Kern Valley State Prison . Under California law , since his crimes harmed other persons he must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for time off with good behavior . He will not be eligible for release until he serves 26 years — when he will be 57 years old .