Only 19 players on Auburn’s roster weigh as much as Ladarious Phillips. Not bad for a true freshman who hopes to break into the offensive or defensive line.

Problem is, Phillips was a fullback in high school and that’s how Auburn plans to use him in 2010.

“He’s a load, now,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. “He’s a load, and he’s got running back feet.”

Phillips arrived at Auburn weighing 291 pounds. Even though Auburn knew that it was getting a running back trapped in a nose guard’s body, that was too heavy.

He’s now down to somewhere around 288 pounds. It’s baby steps for the player teammates simply refer to as “Da Da” (pronounced Day Day).

“It’s not like he’s a sloppy 288,” linebacker Josh Bynes said. “He’s built. Nothing is sitting and sagging over his waistline. It’s those upper ab muscles sticking out.”

Thirteen or so pounds ago, Phillips ran a 4.8 second 40-yard dash. When passes sail a bit over his head during practice drills, Phillips hauls them in with one hand, tailback Mario Fannin said. If he’s in the mood to show off, Phillips does a flat-footed, standing backflip, running backs coach Curtis Luper said. And at 6-foot-1, Phillips can dunk a basketball on a 10-foot regulation hoop.

“He’s a big guy that’s really athletic,” coach Gene Chizik said.

He just wasn’t at a big enough place to garner much national interest until the Tigers swooped in moments before National Signing Day.

On Feb. 1, Phillips, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in three separate seasons and scored 49 touchdowns at Handley High, was committed to Georgia Southern and also had offers on the table from Duke, Louisiana Tech, Troy, Southern Illinois and Murray State. Auburn had Phillips on its radar for a while, but wasn’t able to offer him until the night before Signing Day. That spot emerged in a five-day flurry, when longtime commitment D.J. Howard de-committed to join Clemson and five-star running back Marcus Lattimore chose South Carolina over Auburn at a pre-Signing Day ceremony at his church.

“You just can’t pass on a young man who’s 45 minutes away ... and that athletic,” Luper said.

Where, and in what particular game situations Auburn coaches plan to use Phillips remains to be seen.

“We’re still learning him, learning about him and his skills,” Malzahn said.

After a practice last week, Malzahn said he put Phillips “in the fire.” Phillips’ reaction elicited one of the soft-spoken Malzahn’s most memorable soundbites, but didn’t exactly provide an answer to what it exactly entailed.

“I think he was shocked,” Malzahn said. “We’re trying to strain him, stress him.

“It ain’t Happiness Camp. We’re trying to see if he’ll pull his sleeves up and go to work. At times, he’s shown he will.”

If and when Phillips drops down to 275 pounds, the goal weight from his coaches, he will still present Malzahn and Luper with the biggest running back either has ever coached — by about 30 pounds.

Malzahn said the biggest back he’s ever had in his backfield was 245-pound Peyton Hillis at Arkansas in 2006. Hillis, now a fullback with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, didn’t carry the ball much in the one season Malzahn was offensive coordinator, but he was a constant presence on the field. He started nine of the 10 games while he was healthy, carrying the ball 13 times for 57 yards and a touchdown and hauling in 19 passes for 159 yards.

Phillips outweighs Auburn’s next biggest running back, Eric Smith, by more than 40 pounds. The comparisons stop there, as Smith rarely assumes the role of a true fullback, instead moving all over the backfield as an H-back.

Fannin isn’t small by any means, checking in at 228 pounds, but doesn’t have much experience in short-yardage situations and has battled a reoccuring shoulder injury.
Phillips brings something a little bit different to the hole when he’s carrying the ball, Bynes said.

“You feel it,” Bynes said. “I headbutt him. He headbutts me. I’m not going to say you don’t feel it.”

More than two weeks remain before the season begins, and even then Phillips may still be a work in progress.

“He’ll be a monster,” Bynes said. “He’s going to be something to reckon with in another year or two.”

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