By Steve Shaff, NAU Media Relations

TV AND RADIO COVERAGE: Fans can also listen to the game on the Big Talker on 105.1 FM The Big Talker in Flagstaff, Prescott and Sedona and online on The Big Talker website and via their mobile app on your phone. The game can be seen live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus (DISH: SD 443, HD 9581, DTV: SD 695, HD: 695-1), NAU-TV (Ch. 4/104) and tape-delayed on Fox College Sports Pacific at 10:30 p.m. Fans also watch the game online via NAU-TV or Big Sky TV.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Brandon Phillips woke up one morning three years ago and couldn't hear out of his left ear. He kept checking by snapping his fingers next to his ear. Nothing. In an instant, life as he knew it in every sense had changed.

The linebacker from Loma Linda, Calif., had just had shoulder surgery and was preparing to return to Flagstaff from winter break. He was ready to work his way back to health and earn a spot on the field.

"I got an ear infection and I woke up one day and the hearing in my left ear was completely gone," recalls Phillips.

He went to the hospital that day looking for help and an explanation.

"(The doctors) did not have an answer for me," said Phillips, who was an All-CBL, all-county and All-CIF first-team selection two years in a row at Redlands High School. "They couldn't tell me what happened. It was kinda scary. I was doing a snapping thing to see if I could hear in my left ear. I couldn't hear. The doctor told me it was not going to come back. I was scared and thought playing football with one ear would be hard."

He was right, but at that moment he was not willing to give football up. The hearing loss presents balance issues, as well as the obvious challenge of communicating on a football field with thousands of fans cheering.

"He has had to work on his balance skills and reaction to space and time," said NAU Head Athletic Trainer Ryan Pinson. "He has gotten better at it as he has worked with his hearing loss. Not having hearing on both sides throws that off. He has done a good job making sure he is aware of his sense of time and space. It has been a challenge for him. But he does not look at it as a disability that is hampering him. He just tries to adjust and learn and work with what he has."

Football became a different game for Phillips and required a new level of focus. From hearing the play calls to his movements on the field, he has learned to play the game in a new way.

"One ear gives me a lot of balance problems," said Phillips. "I have been working through it. You get used to it after a while. You have to key in when guys are making calls. You have to really know what you are doing because sometimes you cannot hear the calls. It was an adjustment."

Phillips has had to overcome other challenges, including a knee injury during his sophomore season that sidelined him for nine games. He returned to the field last season and saw action in all 11 games. He ranked seventh on the team with 34 tackles, including a season-high eight against Eastern Washington.

There were also adjustments in the classroom and in his social life.

"When I am in classes I always sit on the left side," said Phillips. "It messes with me socially a lot when you actually try and communicate with someone and they don't know. They are talking to you and they don't say something loud enough. People get annoyed by it."

He does not offer up information about his situation and people often ask him if he is deaf based on his slow or unresponsive responses. He tells them that yes he is.

"I did not want everyone to know but I got used to it," said Phillips, who is majoring in applied computer science. "I try to live as normal as I can."

Phillips' normal has been pretty good on the field this season. He is ninth on the team in tackles with 16 with four or more tackles in three games. He recorded 1.5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble at Montana, helping ignite NAU's second half comeback in that game.

"I thought he brought a real spark," said Defensive Coordinator Andy Thompson. "For him to come off the bench and play as well as he did is a tribute to his preparation and determination to be a senior leader. We got a lot of leadership out of him."

Phillips is happy to contribute in his final season, looking to leave the program with a championship.

"This season is my last go at it; every day I have to be ready to go," said Phillips. "There is a sense of urgency to get better since it is my last shot at it. We want to get to the national championship."