If you’ve wondered what Terp linebacker Dave Philistin has been doing since his senior season ended, you aren’t alone.
While many of his Terp teammates have trained together, whether it be in College Park, Arizona (Kevin Barnes and Darrius Heyward-Bay) or Atlanta (Edwin Williams, Jaimie Thomas, Moise Fokou and others), Philistin has been working out at Optimum Performance Training in Sarasota, Fla.
Philistin returned to College Park for yesterday’s Pro Timing Day.
“Everybody’s been asking me where I’ve been,” the New Hampshire native said. “It’s like I dropped off the face of the Earth.”
While many of the Terps’ highest profile players got opportunities to showcase their skills for scouts at senior all-star games or the NFL Combine, Philistin was a notable exception. He was left to bide his time in Sarasota at a facility he described as, “a small functional place; Pretty tight.”
“I just wanted to play anywhere,” said Philistin of not being invited to any postseason games. “I would’ve played special teams strictly. I just wanted to get in there and show them what I can do. That’s the cards I was dealt, and I’m trying to make the best of it now.”
For Philistin, that meant making the most of his one chance to impress scouts. It was his first time going through the workouts for NFL personnel after missing Junior Day workouts last year because of a shoulder injury.
He added that scouts probably were disappointed that he weighed in at 236 pounds, about five pounds lower than his playing weight, but the 6-foot-2 linebacker feels he can overcome his size deficiences, if given the chance.
“I just want to show scouts that I’m here, I trained, I worked hard,” Philistin said.
edetweilerdbk@gmail.com
Tags: Dave Philistin, maryland football, terps
[...] you may recall, Philistin was not invited to any postseason all-star games or the NFL Combine and had to prove [...]