Ok, so I am having a great year. I started a new wrestling website a couple months ago called The Pin Doctors and it is a full-fledged hit. The Chiefs made me cry from happiness over..and over...and over... Never thought I'd see them win one...honestly. I seriously had no hope of that ever happening.
My brother, Brennan Swafford is a die hard Chiefs fan as well.
That earned him his 2nd OW of the Heart of America Conference award. And he's just a true Sophomore. So he qualified for Nationals as expected. As a Freshman, he placed 7th at nationals.
First match at nationals, he beat a Greco world team member, 20-2... here is his interview after that:
He then won his next 3 matches to make the finals, which were televised on ESPN3 Saturday night and wrestled like the little athletic genius he is:
And then he gave me this awesome interview right after:
My brother is a national champ. My brother, who was snubbed so badly in the recruiting process, proved everyone wrong!!! Brennan was obviously a great wrestler in HS, but was also first team all-state football and placed like 5-6 times in sprinting events in track. He originally signed on to playy football at Graceland, but missed wrestling and wanted to save his body so he can try out for the NFL after he graduates. And I'm dead serious when I say this... it's feasible for him. He is a FREAK athlete. I'm dead serious when I say that he should be looked at. He won the All-Hawkeye Athlete of the year as a Senior in HS which is given to the region's best all-around athlete and for whatever reason, he couldn't get a call or an email back. Not from one D1 school...out of 12. HE SHOWED THEM!!! AND WE ALL KNEW HE WOULD!!!
He was also first in the state for art with a sketch he drew of Bruce Lee in HS. An art nerd and current graphic design major.
I have some people to thank on here who have followed his career over the years on here.
Glorydayz, Lonewolf, Burt, Sorter, Hamas as kept up here and there, Rudy Lost the Toss, Brianfo.... the two main ones though:
Iowanian. He has followed him for years and has offered great praise and insight.
And...
Clay Wendler. He made this awesome highlight reel of him last year despite his fanbase giving him shit for posting non-Chiefs material:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ENJOYING THIS RIDE WITH ME, GUYS!!! AND HE'S JUST A SOPHOMORE!!!
So, I just want to start by saying that I’m extremely grateful for all of the great things Graceland has done for me. The support from my coaches and professors has been awesome. With that being said I would like to announce that I will be continuing my journey at Iowa. Go Hawks! pic.twitter.com/pyCckVW1dZ
Congrats! It is always great to see a kid so dedicated and hardworking finally win the big one. That is a HUGE accomplishment. It takes more than just talent to ascend to the very top- it takes a lot of heart.
Congrats to your family and brother, seems like it’s been quite a start to 2020.
Some friendly advice I’ll add — and my line of work veers right along with this sort of thing, I’ve learned from some pros when I say this: if he really wants a shot at the football thing, he needs to start now. From an evaluator’s perspective, if he waits, the narratives that he will have to fight is “he didn’t love the game enough to play it in college” and it’s going to be damn near impossible to get a real look from the NFL without any college tape. The Antonio Gates’es of the world are unicorns, and as a basketball player converting to TE, it was something more feasible.
If he starts playing football now and shows the requisite pro athletic traits, produces at a very good clip @ the NAIA level... he’ll have a shot. The athletic traits and competitive toughness elements will be most important though because some guys don’t produce as a matter of circumstances (see George Kittle @ Iowa). Then the narrative becomes “he loved football so much that he converted despite being a national champion wrestler”. Talent evaluators LOVE good wrestlers too.
If he plays the game and has true NFL athletic ability, he will probably get a look or two. But that’s something that you only do if he truly loves the game and wants that. A lot of potential sacrifice involved. [Reply]
Cool as hell, Rico. Congrats to your brother! Your entire family must be proud as he sounds like not only a great athlete but a well rounded individual. [Reply]
That kid he beat in the first vid was a stud...making your brother an ALFA MALE STUD! I couldn't be much more impressed! Those 2 were gettin' it! Congratulations!
He looks so small, and to think I wrestled at 150 in college! [Reply]
Thanks to everyone! For real! And I’m relieved you aren’t harshin me for saying he wants to play football because I fully believe that he could maybe do it. He is a FREAK... an inventive, powerful athlete that the fans just love. Hahaha, so if there are any Chiefs brass reading this, the kid is a Chiefs fanatic... he would bust skulls and make it look easier than you’d expect... and he’s just a true Sophomore! He hasn’t peaked! This has been so fun! [Reply]
Originally Posted by burt:
That kid he beat in the first vid was a stud...making your brother an ALFA MALE STUD! I couldn't be much more impressed! Those 2 were gettin' it! Congratulations!
He looks so small, and to think I wrestled at 150 in college!
He carries a lot of weight in his legs... that was the big comment people kept making at Nats. [Reply]
Originally Posted by LoneWolf:
Cool as hell, Rico. Congrats to your brother! Your entire family must be proud as he sounds like not only a great athlete but a well rounded individual.
Thanks so much man! Was hoping you’d reply for you’ve followed along with me on here for years! [Reply]
