L. J. Phillips

Lendon Phillips Jr. is an American college football running back for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He previously played for the South Dakota Coyotes.

Early life

Phillips attended Wichita Northwest High School in Wichita, Kansas. As a junior, he rushed for 1,982 yards before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a state playoff game. Following his high school career, Phillips committed to play college football at the University of South Dakota.

Phillips played sparingly during his first two seasons and entered the 2025 as the Coyotes' second string running back behind Charles Pierre Jr. Following an injury to Pierre, Phillips emerged as the team's starting running back. In his first career start against Northern Colorado, he rushed for 301 yards on 35 carries and two touchdowns. For his performance, Phillips was named the STATS Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week. He finished his redshirt sophomore campaign, leading the Missouri Valley Conference in rushing yards and carries, being named a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, and helping lead the Coyotes to the 2025 [NCAA Division I FCS football season#Postseason|FCS playoffs]. In December 2025, after finishing the season with 1,920 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns, Phillips announced his decision to enter the transfer portal.
On January 11, 2026, Phillips announced his decision to transfer to the University of Iowa to play for the Iowa Hawkeyes.