Phil Steele



Phil Steele (born c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He currently writes a column for the Orlando Sentinel, and is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, produces the annual preseason magazine Phil Steele's College Football Preview, which he personally writes in almost its entirety. The first edition was published in 1995. In a comparison of the major preseason college football magazines, ESPN writer Pat Forde said:"All the mags have their merits . . . But Phil Steele owns the genre . . . The 46-year-old uses a cookie-cutter layout for every team, and his writing will never be nominated for a Pulitzer. But he does author every two-page team preview himself, and he crams stats, facts and figures into every nook and cranny." The magazine was similarly praised by the News & Observer and Rivals.com. Chris Stassen, owner of football.stassen.com, has tracked the preseason magazines' accuracy since 1993 and rates Phil Steele's as the most accurate in its predictions.

Steele has been a member of the All-America, John Mackey Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Lombardi Award, and the Ted Hendricks Award voting committees.