Former ski racer Andy Phillips finds a new future on the football field

If you watch ESPN’s College GameDay on a regular basis, you may have seen a profile earlier this football season on a superstar placekicker named Andy Phillips.

Yep, that Andy Phillips. The one who was also a phenomenal ski racer — the second best slalom skier in the world behind Marcel Hirscher in 2009 for his age.

“I really enjoyed working with him,” says Randy Pelky, head coach of the USST development team. “I think he really had what it takes to make it.”

So how does a former USST member with absolutely no experience on a football field become one of the best college placekickers in a few years?

The simple answer is a ton of hard work, a strong kicking leg (from lots of skiing and soccer), and metal toughness. It’s an interesting and awesome path he took. After having a banner ski season in 2009, Andy followed his faith on a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Norway. “I wasn’t allowed to ski at all,” says Phillips. “But I was able to work out and condition every morning at 5 a.m.” Paired with a Scottish and Danish missionary, Andy played soccer to fill his competitive drive.

After Andy’s two-year mission, it was a tough battle coming back to racing. “He lost the best developmental years of his life,” says Dane Spencer, one of Andy’s U.S. Ski Team coaches when he returned. “He needed to give himself ample time to achieve his goals.” At the completion of Andy’s first year back, he was cut from the U.S. Ski Team with an option to pay-to-play as an invitee.

“I decided that I was sick of being told what races I could and couldn’t race in, and paying $25,000 to do it,” says Phillips. “It wasn’t realistic.” Four years later, this is the USST status quo. Almost all non A-Team athletes are forced to fund themselves because USST administration has decided to fund sports science and other departments rather than athletes. So Andy — like many other racers — moved on. “I wanted to do something where my hard work would not only pay off,” he says, “but [where] I was also more able to control my own outcome and future.”

Andy’s future direction drastically changed after a day at Alta High School playing football with his brothers and cousins when they decided to have a field-goal competition. Andy handily beat the rest of the Phillips family with a 54-yard field goal.

“Skiing trained me very well for football,” says Andy. “While there are many who have the physical ability and talent, there aren’t many who are mentally tough enough to be consistent and perform under pressure.” Maybe the most important thing Phillips learned from ski racing was the ability to be a clutch performer on game day — a talent that he continues to show the Utah fans day in and day out.

At the beginning of 2012 — a few months after that field-goal competition — Andy told his wife, Megan, that his New Year’s resolution was to make a D1 football team. The following spring and summer, without any formal training, Andy started kicking hundreds of balls and sending videotapes to various D1 coaches. University of Utah coach Jay Hill gave Andy a chance as a walk on in summer 2012.

By spring 2013, Andy had earned the starting kicking position and has since been a huge part of Utah’s success. His nickname with the Utah fans is “Automatic Andy.” He led the Pac-12 in scoring mid-season; was recommended for first team Pac-12; is a team captain; and leads all kickers in YouTube moments. Andy’s first season field goal percentage was 85 while he scored 92 points. This year, his field goal percentage is 82.1 percent and he’s scored 113 points. Andy’s numbers are right in the mix of NFL placekickers, but he’s determined finish his college career.

“I plan on playing all four years,” says Andy, who is currently a senior majoring in marketing and information systems and expects to graduate in December 2015. “I have two more years to earn a masters degree and continue to play football.” Staying in school and getting a masters degree — and more kicking experience — is a solid plan as a placekicker’s age isn’t a determinant of landing an NFL kicking position.

But there’s more. In early September, Andy and Megan welcomed a boy, Maxiumus, into the world. Andy admits it’s been a challenge balancing being a father with football and school. But he graciously praises Megan’s endless commitment and diligence to their son. “Out of all of this, my respect for mothers has increased drastically,” says the proud husband — and father. “Just seeing him laugh or smile and watching him develop his personality and grow is miraculous. It’s the most rewarding decision that I have ever made.”