COLLEGE FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : USC : Phillips Makes Most of Opportunity

Micah Phillips, the sophomore backup safety who played a major role in USC’s 22-17 victory at Washington Saturday, was so nervous about his anticipated start in Seattle he called his mother before the game for support.

“I knew there was a chance I would start because (Mike) Salmon was hurt, so I didn’t sleep practically all night,” Phillips said after the game, during which he led USC with six unassisted tackles, was in on seven others and recovered a fumble.

“I called my mom in Dallas and she just said to stop worrying so much,” Phillips said.

“Salmon told me not to worry, that I’d do a good job. Willie (McGinest, senior defensive end) told me to ‘cool down.’ ”

Trojan safeties coach Keith Burns describes Phillips as a physical, aggressive player. “Micah’s got that fire and spirit you love to see in a young player, and he plays so hard he tends to make mistakes,” Burns said.

Salmon, the senior starting strong safety, played sparingly Saturday but is expected to play against UCLA Saturday--with Phillips. “We weren’t going to use Mike at all, but he warmed up Saturday better than he’d looked all week,” Burns said.

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Another Saturday star for USC, senior linebacker Joe Barry, said the Trojans’ wakeup call this season came on Oct. 2, in Tucson, when Arizona crushed USC, 38-7. “The Arizona game turned us around,” said Barry, who’s Saturday interception with 41 seconds left ended Washington’s last possession. “It was our wake up call, a slap in the face. The Arizona game showed us we can’t go out there against these teams and just screw around, that we had to practice hard and play hard, on every play.”