Gene Swick

He was born the son of a minister, Jack Swick, in Licking County, Ohio.[1] His family moved often, and he attended Millersport High School and Oak Hill High School each for one year, and Hebron Lakewood High School for his final two years.[1] Swick chose to attend the University of Toledo to play college football because they ran a pass-oriented offense, which many larger schools such as Ohio State did not at the time.[1] He said he received interest from Woody Hayes' Ohio State coaching staff, but that he did not wish to hand off the ball to a running back.[1] Swick described Toledo's offense as often using four-receiver sets and eschewing short passing game in favor of attempts of ten yards or more.[1]

At the University of Toledo, Swick played on the football team from 1972 to 1975, and earned varsity letters in each of his last three seasons.[2] The Mid-American Conference named Swick to the All-MAC first team in 1973, 1974, and 1975. The league selected him as the MAC Back of the Year in 1974 and 1975.[2] In November 1974, the Associated Press called Swick the "hardest-working quarterback in the country with 44.6 rushing-passing plays per game."[3] In 1975, Swick led the nation in total offensive yards with 2,706.[4] He finished as the runner-up in completions with 17.3 per game, and passed for 15 touchdowns and rushed for eight more.[5]

In the final game of his collegiate career against Kent State, Swick became the first player to record more than 8,000 career yards.[6] His final career mark was 8,074 yards of total offense.[7] He broke the former record of 7,887 yards held by Jim Plunkett of Stanford (1968–1970).[8] Swick's benchmark was in turn surpassed in 1980 by Mark Herrmann of Purdue (1977–1980).[9] Over the course of his collegiate career, Swick set numerous University of Toledo records for passing and offense.[2]

The United Press International named Swick to its 1975 All-America first team,[10] which makes him the only MAC quarterback to ever earn that honor from a major wire service.[2] The Touchdown Club of Columbus awarded him the Sammy Baugh Trophy as the nation's best passer,[1] and Football Roundup magazine selected him as the Offensive Player of the Year.[2] He finished tenth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.[11] Swick played in the Senior Bowl for the North squad,[12] and the East–West Shrine Game for the East squad.[13]

• 1973: 165/301 for 2,234 yards with 15 TD vs 17 INT. 290 yards and 4 TD rushing.[14]
• 1974: 178/287 for 2,234 yards with 13 TD vs 13 INT. 216 yards and 7 TD rushing.[15]
• 1975: 190/308 for 2,487 yards with 15 TD vs 12 INT. 219 yards and 8 TD rushing.[16]

Before the 1975 season, Swick had been considered a prospective first-round selection in the NFL Draft according to The Chicago Tribune.[17] However, in the 1976 NFL Draft, Swick was not selected until the fourth round, where he was chosen with the 97th overall pick by the Cleveland Browns.[18] The Associated Press wrote, "As advertised, it was emphatically not the year of the quarterback. Except for the Jets' selection of Todd, the passers were pretty much ignored."[19] Accurate passer Mike Cruszek of Boston College was the second quarterback selected, despite not being a "name" player.[19] Thus, touted quarterbacks Swick and Craig Penrose of San Diego State both fell to the fourth round.[19]

The Browns signed Swick, alongside former Purdue quarterback Craig Nagel, in May 1976.[20] His bonus was reported to be $20,000.[21] Swick attended camp with a sore throwing arm,[21] which reportedly hampered his performance.[22] He said, "I didn't want to tell anybody because it would look like I was making excuses for myself. But it has come back strong now. I'm ready."[21] During a summer scrimmage, he had a mediocre performance in which he completed six of 14 pass attempts for 44 yards and threw two interceptions.[23] The franchise subsequently released Swick in July.[21] He said, "There's not much I can say except I think they made a mistake. I'll just have to think over what my future in football might be. I haven't any complaint. They were good to me here, and I had the same opportunity as anyone else."[21] His agent contacted several unnamed NFL teams with quarterback needs to secure another roster spot.[22]

In August, he attended tryouts with the New York Giants, and had a "two-year, no-cut contract" with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.[24] However, Swick said he did not like the style of play in Canada, and decided instead to enter business.[1]

After his playing career, Swick entered the manufacturing industry, in which he continued to work as of 2008. He resided in Buckeye Lake, Ohio, where he is self-employed.[1] Swick has been inducted into the University of Toledo's Varsity 'T' Hall of Fame,[25] and the Hebron Lakewood High School Hall of Fame.[1]

The University of Toledo record for career passing yards set by Swick was finally broken by Bruce Gradkowski in 2005.[26] Swick remained the last Toledo quarterback drafted into the NFL until Tampa Bay picked Gradkowski in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft.[27]

• List of NCAA major college football yearly total offense leaders