Phil Costa

Phil Costa is a starting center and guard for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cowboys after he went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft. Costa played his college ball at the University of Maryland.

Costa is an intelligent, versatile player who was the leader of the Maryland Terrapins offensive line as a senior. Costa is a hard-nosed player with good feet and as a two-year starter mostly played guard until his senior season when he started at center. The hard working Costa played in 40 career games, including 30 starts, (13 at RG/five at LG/12 at center) starting the final 24 games of his career. He was also a two-time Academic All-ACC performer and one of the strongest players on the team during his career. Costa owns the all-time record among Terps’ offensive linemen in the clean (435 in 2008) and is second all-time in the vertical jump (35.5 inches in 2007) among offensive linemen. In addition he also has the third-best strength index (748 in 2008) in school history (among offensive linemen).

Costa signed with the Dallas Cowboys after he went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the 4th string center, with Kyle Kosier and Travis Bright ahead of him, but when Kosier got hurt and Bright struggled, Costa became the primary backup center. He impressed the coaching staff so much that he made the opening day 53-man roster. He continued to impress the Cowboys coaches with a solid 2011 training camp and preseason for the Cowboys. When contract restructuring negotiations fell through with five time Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode, the Cowboys released Gurode and made Costa the starting center. The future is bright for the hard-working kid from Moorestown Township, New Jersey.