TYRONE SWOOPES

QUARTERBACK – 6’4″ – 240 LBS – WHITEWRIGHT

AT ONE TIME, Tyrone Swoopes was the talk of the town. People dubbed the Texas quarterback-signee as the latest coming of Vince Young … as the next dualthreat
signal caller on the 40 Acres. But that was then, and this is now. A difficult senior season at tiny Whitewright High School (which has about 220 students) followed …

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by a handful of up-and-down showings in offseason camps and at the U.S. Army All-America Bowl caused some people to change their tune about Swoopes.

The same people swooning over the incoming quarterback at this time last year now say he might be better off as a tight end, an outside linebacker or even safety — although at 6’4” and 250 pounds, the latter is a reach. “I love to play football and compete with other guys,” Swoopes said. “As a competitor, when somebody tells you can’t do something, you want to prove you can.”

Swoopes, a distant cousin of former Texas Tech women’s basketball standout Sheryl Swoopes, turned heads with a sophomore season that saw him gain a combined 2,644 yards rushing and passing, as well as account for 40 touchdowns. He delivered a rousing encore in 2011, rushing for 2,267 yards and 29 touchdowns while passing for 1,394 and 15 scores. His performance brought in scholarship offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA and LSU prior to committing to Texas. But Swoopes’ senior season fell well short of expectations as he battled a hamstring injury.

He completed 42 percent of his passes for 873 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Whitewright finished the season 1-9. “When the team loses, everybody loses,” Swoopes said. “People will say what they want, but one guy can’t do it all by himself.” ESPN reclassified him as an athlete, rather than a quarterback. He went from a five-star to a four-star prospect, according to Rivals.com.

The changes in his status placed a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder — one Swoopes is ready to brush off. With a combination of size, speed and physicality, he could excel at various positions in college. Swoopes enrolled into classes this semester and will work at quarterback during spring drills.

As a quarterback, Swoopes is not yet a proficient pocket passer, but has the arm strength to make most college-level throws if he can improve his footwork and mechanics. He’s at his best on the run, sprinting downfield out of the spread formation, and difficult to bring down.

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