Phillips in some select company

Shakim Phillips' 255 yards receiving is the most for a UConn receiver
through the first two games of the season in nearly 25 seasons

While I was in the process of putting together a story on Shakim Phillips and his hopes that he tender hamstring will allow him to play against Michigan on Saturday I was curious where his receiving totals through two games ranks in recent UConn history.

So I started going back through the years. It started on this very computer but that only got me back to 2007. Then I was given access to the UConn media guides and began to go back, back, back and back some more.

As recent as 2005 Jason Williams had 200 yards through the first two games but that is still a far cry from the 255 Phillips has piled up. Dak Newton and Carl Bond hit the 240-yard mark in the 1996 and 1997 seasons. Then in 1991 Alex Davis had 249 yards but that still didn't top what Phillips accomplished. Finally it was Mark Didio who was the receiver who had more yards through two games than Phillips as he had 283 yards in the first two contests of the 1989 season. As a point of reference, that was three years before Phillips was born. Of course the question is whether Phillips will be able to add to that total on Saturday. He vows to play but we'll have to see how his hamstring reacts to the strain of practices moving forward this week.

An interesting note is that Geremy Davis' 154 yards through the first two games would have been the most since 2005 if not for Phillips.

Here's the list
Player Season    Rec. yards (catches)
Mark Didio 1989 283 (16)
Shakim Phillips 2013 255 (15)
Mark Didio 1990 249 (9)
Alex Davis 1991 244 (14)
Carl Bond 1997 240 (11)
Dak Newton 1996 240 (10)
Mark Didio 1991 208 (16)
John Fitzsimmons 1998 203 (11)
Jason Williams 2005 200 (10)
Shaun Feldeisen 2003 171 (11)
John Fitzsimmons 2000 171 (7)