Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football.[1] He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media.[2] His company, Phil Steele Publications, produces the annual preseason magazine Phil Steele's College Football Preview, which he personally writes in almost its entirety.[3] The first edition was published in 1995.[4] 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.[1]
The magazine was similarly praised by the News & Observer and Rivals.com.[5][6] 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.[7][8] Phil is currently a full-time employee of ESPN writing articles for ESPN+ and appearing on SportsCenter. He continues to produce the "Bible of College Football" which is the Phil Steele College Football preview that is now in its 25th year.
