|
2007 PRESEASON HONORS• 2nd team all-MWC (CollegeFootballNews.com)
NEW MEXICO:Returning starter at right wolf safety who is the team's top returning tackler and is making a name for himself as one of the Mountain West Conference's most productive safeties this fall...soft spoken and small in stature, but flies around the field and plays with tremendous energy...fearless in run support and teammates say he is probably the Lobos' biggest hitter pound-for-pound...very sure tackler and has also become more of a force in pass coverage as well...126 tackles in 29 career games (23 starts)...a leader by example, he was voted team captain by his teammates for the 2007 season...one of the most powerful players on the team, earning the Beefmaster award this past spring for players weighing under 200 pounds...put up 325 in the bench, 330 in the power clean and improved his squat to 500 pounds...made an immediate impact in his first Division I season in 2005 and has developed into a stalward defender as he has grown more comfortable and confident in the scheme...transferred to UNM from Garden City (Kan.) CC in `05...did not attend college his first year out of high school and he was a redshirt in 2003...former Broncbuster teammate Anthony Kilby is the Lobos' starting OG...Lobo linebacker Herbert Felder is a 2004 grad of Apopka HS...has a 3-year-old daughter, Ja'naiyha.2007 (SENIOR): Enjoyed an excellent first half of the year, flying around the football and being a consistent playmaker on both defense and special teams in the first 6 games...2nd on the team with 33 tackles (16 solo), including a TFL...has put on a clinic with a number of form tackles and big hits...also has an interception, a pass break-up, 2 fumble returns for 69 yards, and 2 QB hurries...helping to lead the MWC's top scoring defense (18th nationally), No. 3 total defense and No. 4 pass efficiency defense.
`07 HIGHLIGHTS: vs. BYU...Excellent effort, recording 7 physical tackles and providing tight coverage thoughout the night to help the Lobo secondary limit QB Max Hall to 251 yards on 18-40 passing (45%)...Hall entered the game ranked 4th in the nation averaging 377.3 yards/game...blanketed Cougar WRs and was not thrown at once...also notched a QB hurry when he launched himself through the middle of the line to pressure Hall. vs. Sacramento State...Just 2 stops, but scooped up a dropped pass for his first INT of the season and knocked the Hornet QB out of the game in the 2nd quarter with a hit off the blitz...helped the defense record its first shutout in 5 years, while allowing just 104 yards of total offense - the fewest since 1983 - including a mere 27 yards passing. at Arizona...Led the team with 6 tackles and was involved in two of the biggest plays of the game, scooping up a pair of Wildcat fumbles in Lobo territory and returing them 39 and 30 yards, respectively...also got in on a tackle for loss. vs. New Mexico State...Led the team with 10 tackles with just 1 missed in 49 snaps...delivered a few more solid hits across the middle and made some critical special teams stops as well. at UTEP...Credited for just 1 solo stop - a form tackle in the open field - but helped set the defensive tone of the game with a big hit across the middle to jar the ball loose from TE Jake Sears on a 3rd-and-10 pass...provided tight coverage throughout the night, helping the Lobo secondary limit the Miners to just 81 yards passing and a 32% completion rate. Preseason Honors...2nd team all-MWC (CollegeFootballNews.com). 2006 (JUNIOR): Finished 2nd on the team (15th MWC) with 74 tackles in 13 starts...always seemed to be around the football, recording 3 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 4 pass break-ups and a tackle for loss...missed just 7 tackles all year. `06 HIGHLIGHTS: vs. San Diego State...Just 3 stops, but recorded his team-leading 3rd forced fumble with a big hit on QB Kevin O'Connell as he tried to leap into the end zone...UNM recovered the loose ball for a touchback...at No. 23 BYU...Excellent effort against one of the nation's most explosive offeneses...recorded 7 tackles, his highest total in 6 games, and notched his second INT...gathered a tipped pass by teammate Brett Madsen to stop a fourth quarter Cougar drive deep in UNM territory...vs. TCU...Part of a sensational defensive performance against one of the league's most balanced offenses...notched 4 tackles (3 solo) to help limit the Horned Frogs to a season-low 192 yards of total offense, nearly 200 under their season average...TCU had a mere 25 yards passing, including 8 yards on 13 attempts over the final 3 quarters...the Frogs entered the day averaging 207 yards throught the air...TCU also had just 29 rushing yards (1.8 avg.) and 1 first down in the 2nd half...at Colorado State...Recorded 6 tackles (4 solo) and jarred the ball loose from WR Damon Morton to prevent a 21-yard TD early in the 3rd quarter...did not miss any tackles in 36 plays...vs. Utah...Solid performance, recording 6 tackles and deflected a pass that was nearly intercepted on a 3rd-and-7 play on Utah's first possession of the 2nd half...vs. Wyoming...Got in on 5 tackles and broke up a pass with a big hit across the middle...helped limit the Cowboys to 204 yards passing...at Air Force...Made 8 stops to help lead a solid defensive performance against one of the nation's most challenging offenses...the Falcons were held to 281 yards of total offense, 107 below their season average...vs. UTEP...Finished with 3 tackles and helped the Lobo secondary turn in an excellent performance against the Miners' prolific passing attack...UTEP had just 211 passing yards and star WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, the nation's receiving yardage leader (126 avg.), finished with 3 catches for 18 yards...set the tone early when he jarred the ball out of Higgins' hands on a deep sideline pass on the second play of the game...vs. Missouri...Added 7 more tackles to help the Lobos hold an explosive Tiger offense 130 yards under its season average...broke up a deep pass to force a Mizzou punt and teamed with Quincy Black on a big tackle for loss...had 6 solo stops, many coming in the open field to limit the Tigers yards after catch...at New Mexico State...Was around the ball the entire night in a breakthrough performance...finished with a game and career-high 13 tackles and caused two Aggie fumbles...also pulled in a tipped pass for his first career INT and returned the ball 37 yards to set up the Lobos' go-ahead TD. 2005 (SOPHOMORE): Established himself as one of the top new players in the UNM secondary early in the season, but a knee injury hampered him a bit in the second half of the year...recorded 19 stops on the year, including 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks...also had a QB hurry and 2 pass break-ups in 10 games (4 starts). `05 HIGHLIGHTS: vs. Air Force...Matched his season-high with 6 tackles after going the previous 7 weeks without a single stop...also had 2 tackles in the backfield, including a 3-yard sack, in 66 plays...vs. New Mexico State...Let a WR get behind him early in the game, but never dropped his level of intensity...finished with 4 tackles and a big sack blitzing off the edge...at Missouri...Made 6 tackles, including 5 solo, in 56 plays...also broke up a pair of passes with some big hits on the Tiger receivers. GARDEN CITY CC:First team all-Jayhawk Conference defensive back in 2004 for head coach Bob Larson...compiled 60 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 6 pass deflections, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery and 1 caused fumble.HIGH SCHOOL:A 2002 graduate of Apopka (Fla.) HS...Central Florida Player of the Year as a senior, leading AHS to the state title with a 14-1 record...also finished third in Class 6A for the Mr. Football Award...three-year starter for head coach Rick Darlington... had 137 tackles his junior season.PERSONAL:Born Feb. 4, 1984, in Apopka...age is 23...full name is Othellus Jermaine Swift...son of Othellus Swift and Linda and Earnest Bailey...majoring in University Studies.CAREER HIGHS:Tackles: 13, at New Mexico State (9/9/06). Interceptions: 1, twice. Longest INT Return: 37 yards, at New Mexico State (9/9/06). Passes Broken Up: 1, six times. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
