Dave Philistin

Dave Philistin (born September 24, 1986) is an American former football linebacker and CEO and founder of Candor, a cloud-based managed IT services company. He played for the Maryland Terrapins at the University of Maryland. Philistin is a 2011 UFL Draft choice of the Las Vegas Locomotives.

Early life Philistin was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, to mother Liz Murphy. His brother, Jacques, played football as a nose tackle at Norfolk State University where he earned All-American honors. Dave attended Manchester Central High School where he played football for four years. As a sophomore, he played as a defensive end, before moving to inside linebacker and tailback for his final two years. He also letter twice in track and field, with his events being sprints and shot put.

As a senior, he recorded 108 tackles, one interception returned for a touchdown, 4.5 quarterback sacks, one blocked punt that he also returned for a touchdown, and one fumble recovery. That year as a tailback, he rushed for 1,002 yards and 13 touchdowns. During his senior season, the team went 13–0 and won the state championship.

College career At Maryland, Philistin majored in American studies. In 2005, Phlistin saw action in 10 of 11 games as a true freshman reserve linebacker, and recorded seven tackles, five of which were solo, half of a tackle for loss, and one quarterback hurry. In 2006, he played in all 13 games again as a reserve and also in a special teams role. Philistin started twice at the "Sam" linebacker position. He recorded 15 solo tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. He again ranked second on the team in total tackles with 94, behind Alex Wujciak. In the upset win against 23rd-ranked California, Philistin led the team with 13 tackles, including one for loss. ESPN named Philistin, alongside Moise Fokou, as one of the key impact players in that game.

Before the season, he was placed on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Lombardi Award watchlists. Philistin was named a consensus preseason first-team All-ACC, first-team Sporting News, Blue Ribbon, and Lindy's and second-team Athlon player. Lindy's also ranked him as the 11th inside linebacker in that nation. He was also an All-ACC nominee. The NFL Draft Scout had ranked Philistin 20th among 149 inside linebacker prospects for the 2009 draft. It said that, despite being undersized for the NFL, he is an excellent tackler, especially against rushers. The Sporting News projected Philistin as a sixth-round selection, noting that his key strengths were intelligence, persistence, and an ability to quickly read the run. It noted that his size might predispose him towards being a career reserve, although he was considered "a solid late-round pick for a team in a 3–4 scheme."