Sam Phillips

#2 · WR · Sr. · Iowa5′7″ · 183 lb · Cartersville, GA

Sam Phillips is a wide receiver who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Iowa.

Phillips beats you over the top. Came to Iowa by way of Chattanooga. One game to point at: 75 receiving yards and 3 receptions against Massachusetts — Week 3, 2025.

Style of play

Play style

Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Jahcour PearsonOle Miss · 2021 · 63% season match
Ja'Khi DouglasFlorida State · 2021 · 61% season match
Tyrin SmithUTEP · 2021 · 57% season match
Anthony GouldOregon State · 2021 · 57% season match
Jaylon RobinsonUCF · 2021 · 56% season match

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2025	Iowa	16	261	16.3	0	45
Career		16	261	16.3	0	45

Season	Team
2025	Iowa	46
Career		46

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 10 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 34-7vs UAlbany	—	—	—	—	—
Wk 2	L 13-16@ No. 16 Iowa State	1	15	15.0	0	15
Wk 3	W 47-7vs Massachusetts	3	75	25.0	0	45	Season-high 75 yds
Wk 4	W 38-28@ Rutgers	1	25	25.0	0	25
Wk 5	L 15-20vs No. 11 Indiana	5	64	12.8	0	21
Wk 7	W 37-0@ Wisconsin	1	14	14.0	0	14
Wk 9	W 41-3vs Minnesota	1	11	11.0	0	11
Wk 11	L 16-18vs No. 6 Oregon	1	12	12.0	0	12
Wk 13	W 20-17vs Michigan State	1	33	33.0	0	33
Wk 14	W 40-16@ Nebraska	2	12	6.0	0	11
Total		16	261	16.3	0	45

Signature game

Week 5 · 2025

L 15-20

vs Indiana

5 rec · 64 yds

With M. Gronowski — 144 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 54.7 · R. Dakin — 38 yards per punt · 3 punts · 3 inside the 20

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 3 · Massachusetts · 2nd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +3.28Mark Gronowski pass complete to Sam Phillips for 45 yds to the MASS 20 for a
Week 11 · Oregon · 3rd and 8 · Q3 · EPA +2.33Gronowski to Phillips: a 12-yard pass.
Week 2 · Iowa State · 2nd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.24Mark Gronowski pass complete to Sam Phillips for 15 yds to the IOWA 44 for a
Week 3 · Massachusetts · 2nd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +2.09Mark Gronowski pass complete to Sam Phillips for 22 yds to the MASS 39 for a
Week 5 · Indiana · 3rd and 5 · Q4 · EPA +1.98Hank Brown pass complete to Sam Phillips for 10 yds to the IOWA 40 for a
Week 5 · Indiana · 2nd and 10 · Q1 · EPA +1.83Mark Gronowski pass complete to Sam Phillips for 13 yds to the IOWA 38 for a

4 more plays

Week 5 · Indiana · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.62Mark Gronowski pass complete to Sam Phillips for 21 yds to the IU 39 for a
Week 14 · Nebraska · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +1.59Gronowski to Phillips: an 11-yard pass.
Week 13 · Michigan State · 2nd and 8 · Q4 · EPA +1.59Gronowski to Phillips: a 33-yard pass.
Week 9 · Minnesota · 2nd and 8 · Q1 · EPA +1.21Gronowski to Phillips: an 11-yard pass.

Receiving profile

Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth

How often he's targeted, and how well it works

16 rec · 261 yds · 0 TD

16 of 16 receptions matched to play-by-play

7 of 23 targets charted for true throw depth

Targets

239% of team targets

Catch rate

70%16 of 23 targets

Short · 0–9 air yds

57% of targets (4)

75%catch rate

Air 5.2 · YAC 3.7 avg

Middle · 10–19 air yds

14% of targets (1)

100%catch rate

Air 12.0 · YAC 0.0 avg

Deep · 20+ air yds

29% of targets (2)

50%catch rate

Air 24.5 · YAC 9.0 avg

70% catch rate on 23 targets · 9% of the team's targets.

Situational

Situational · Share of own targets (PBP, 2025)

Third-down role

23%5 of his 22 targets came on third down · Receiver median is 24%

Teams and coaches

2025Iowa9-4HC: Kirk Ferentz · Run-heavy, slow tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 31 (#402 of 485). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2025 season

31Below cohort / limited sample #402 of 485 · 2025?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2025 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: explosive rate (97th percentile). Strength: epa / target (95th percentile). Concern: td rate (18th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

Explosive rate#22 / 798 · 97th pct

22.7%

EPA / target#44 / 798 · 95th pct

0.84

Yards / catch#63 / 798 · 92nd pct

16.3

Catch rate#255 / 798 · 67th pct

72.7%

TD rate#507 / 798 · 18th pct

0.0%

Box-score rates (5)

Yards / catch#77 / 558 · 86th pct

16.3

Long catch#300 / 558 · 45th pct

Rec yards#397 / 558 · 29th pct

261

Receptions#465 / 558 · 15th pct

Rec TDs#482 / 558 · 7th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— first qualifying season

Explosive rate— first qualifying season

Catch rate— first qualifying season

TD rate— first qualifying season

Yards / catch— first qualifying season

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2025. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2025 season · 10 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	1.8	32.5	18.8	0.0
Road4g	1.2	16.5	15.0	0.0

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	1.8	32.2	18.4	0.0
Weeks 8+4g	1.2	17.0	15.5	0.0

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2025 season

Head Coach

Kirk Ferentz

Pass share

36.6%

286 pass / 495 run

Plays / game

60.1

13 games

Team sack rate

6.2%

288 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Run-heavy, slow tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2025

16 catches in 10 games

Fewer catches a game than most FBS receivers who play every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

31 · #402 of 485 WRs · 2025

2026 outlook

Outside shot for All-Big Ten

Based on 2025: #55 of 61 Big Ten WRs

How the All-Big Ten base rate is computed

A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 15% of returning players who ranked #21 or lower at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 13–17%).