Phil Glover

With Utah playing Louisville at home this weekend I have been recalling the game the two teams played in 1998. It was the inaugural game for Rice-Eccles Stadium and I was there in the brand new stands. Utah had a terrific game that night, beating Louisville 45-22. Future NFL players on that Utah squad included rb Mike Anderson, cb Andre Dyson, de John Frank, lb Phil Glover, dt Ma'ake Kemoeatu, and wr Clifford Russell. It was a talented team and Dyson had two interceptions in the game, but the player who really stood out to me was Phil Glover. A Butkus Award candidate, Glover had incredible range as a linebacker. He was all over the field, using his 4.48 40 speed and team-best 38 inch vertical leap to harass the Louisville offense. He made a definite impression on me as a college player, but what has he done professionally?

Glover was drafted by the Tennessee Titans, a team with a strong track record of drafting Utah players (they also drafted Andre Dyson). A seventh round pick, Glover was a member of the Titans team that came up just short of tying St. Louis in the Super Bowl when fellow ProUte Kevin Dyson was tackled at the one yard line. Following that season Glover was assigned to the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe; he then went on to have a notable career in Arena Football, winning individual accolades and team honors along the way. In this picture Glover (#31) and Brian Johnson hoist the trophy after winning Arena Bowl XXI in 2007. Glover was named Ironman of the Game.

This week ProUtes salutes Phil Glover, a dominant linebacker from Las Vegas, and looks forward to watching Stevenson Sylvester, another linebacker with great range from Las Vegas, get his shot at having a memorable game against Louisville!