Marvin Philip is of Polynesian (Tongan) descent. His parents immigrated to the United States from Tonga in 1971. He has two older brothers, both of which were born in Hawaii. One is the owner of a recording studio in Los Angeles and the other is a bodyguard for the Backstreet Boys. His father moved back to Tonga in 1996 where he is an importer/exporter. Marvin was born in Foster City in California. He attended Oak Ridge High School in Cameron Park, California where he played both football and rugby. As a senior he was named MVP of his rugby team. In football, Philip played on both the offensive and defensive lines in high school. He totaled 60 tackles and 3 sacks as a senior and was named first team all-county. He was considered to be one of the top prospects in the region and decided to attend Cal due to its academics and proximity to his family. He earned his first start three games into his true freshman season but missed a good portion of the season with a sprained knee. He started three games his first year at Cal. After his freshman year, Philip left school to go on a two year Morman mission in South Dakota. When he returned for the 2003 season, Philip was down to 250 pounds. He was honored with the Bob Tessier award in the spring for being the team’s most improved offensive lineman. He was a backup the first nine games of the season and returned to the starting lineup after Nolan Bluntzer went down with a sprained ankle. He had to gain 30 pounds to get back up to a good playing weight and now weighs around 300 pounds. As a junior Philip started every game at center and received the Brick Muller Award for the team’s most valuable lineman. He was named first team all-pac ten and second team all-American for his play as a junior. He had to miss spring practice prior to his senior season while recovering from shoulder surgery. Marvin has seven cousins who play in the pac ten including Oregon defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.

Marvin Philip is a smart player who makes all the calls for the Cal offensive line. Four plays are called in the huddle (two running, two passing) and once the play is called at the line of scrimmage, it is Philip’s responsibility to get the correct protection called. He is a tough player with a non-stop motor. He possesses the “mean streak” you like to see in an offensive lineman. He is a good technician who gets good leverage and knows how to use angles to his advantage. He is athletic enough to block on the move and he does a good job of finishing his blocks. Philip lacks ideal size and will have problems against larger defensive tackles at times. He will be older than your typical rookie at 24 years old due to the fact that he left college for a two year Morman mission. He lost a lot of weight while he was gone and needs to work on keeping his weight up. He would benefit from bulking up and improving his strength. Marvin Philip has all the intangibles you could look for in a football player. He is the type of person you want on your football team and has the ability to develop into a solid center at the professional level.