Harrison Phillips Nominated for Prestigious NFL Award
NFL players do plenty of work on the field, but many of them also make sure to benefit their communities off the field as well.
Every year, the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award is given out to a player to celebrate these efforts off the field. Each team nominates a player from their roster, and this year, the Minnesota Vikings have nominated Harrison Phillips for the award.
Harrison Phillips Nominated for Prestigious NFL Award
The Vikings took to social media to announce the nomination, writing, “@horribleharry99 helps make a difference in the lives of those with developmental differences and special needs. With his work doing @hplaymakers99 across three cities, he’s our nominee for the 2023 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.”
Phillips’ organization, Harrison’s Playmakers, offers year-round sports programs for children with developmental differences and special needs in three different cities: Buffalo, Minneapolis, and Omaha.
The Vikings defensive lineman obviously lives in Minneapolis now, but before his time in Minnesota, he began his NFL career by spending four seasons with the Buffalo Bills following a third-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Even earlier than that, he was born in Omaha and went to Millard West High School in the city before his collegiate years at Stanford.
As he’s gone from city to city throughout his NFL career, Phillips has continued to ensure that he brings the program with him to help children get more involved in sports and lifestyle events. Take a look at this excerpt from the About Us page:
“You might go play soccer and then your next station is a petting zoo – and we have goats and donkeys and bunny rabbits. And then you go to basketball, and then your next station is face painting,” Harrison explained. “And then you have the quarterback station, and then the next one is we have this huge, inflatable bounce-house obstacle course.
Phillips has been spectacular on the field for the Vikings this season, recording 68 tackles, a tackle for loss, and 2.0 sacks, but the organization deserves plenty of applause as well. The defensive lineman has done some great work in the communities of Buffalo, Omaha, and Minneapolis throughout his career, making him a worthy candidate for the award.
The winner of the award will be announced during the week of the Super Bowl. Last season, the Vikings’ nominee was WR Adam Thielen.
Again, for more information regarding Harrison’s Playmakers, check out the link here.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.