National Football League

Lawrence Phillips' letters from prison paint scary picture

Published Jun. 2, 2015 1:32 p.m. ET

James Parziale

The downfall of Lawrence Phillips may be one of the most drastic in football history — and now he's given us some insight to what life is like on the inside.

The star running back at Nebraska who got into trouble in 1994-95 was somewhat forced to enter the NFL Draft in 1996 — earlier than he may have wanted.

Phillips was the No. 6 overall pick and turned out to be one of the worst draft busts of all time.

He got in legal trouble with the Rams and didn't last two seasons, finishing 1997 in Miami. He spent a year in the CFL before trying to come back to the NFL with the 49ers in 1999, but was such a pain in the locker room that he played in just eight games.

Failed attempts in the CFL and AFL didn't work either, and in August 2005, Phillips was arrested and charged with running his car into three teenagers during a dispute, while being wanted on allegations of assault on his girlfriend. He was convicted on both counts and got more than 31 years in prison.

In addition, Phillips, 39, is a suspect in the murder of cellmate Damion Soward.

Now letters that Phillips wrote to former coaches have been obtained by USA Today and made public.

Some of what he describes is harrowing. In the letters, Phillips writes to Tony Zane, who was his coach at Baldwin Park High School in Southern California, and Ty Pagone, a retired vice principal and former football coach at Baldwin Park High.

Here are some of the choice excerpts:

Jan. 14, 2014

May. 29, 2014

June 15, 2014 (To coach Pagone):

Sept. 14, 2014 (To Coach D):