Making his decision final, former Stanford Cardinal DE Jovan Swann announced he’ll be transferring to Indiana as a grad-transfer. He’ll be immediately eligible to play this fall for the Hoosiers.
Swann was a two-year starter for Stanford picking up 14 tackles for loss over the past two seasons. At 6’2, 271 pounds, Swann played over 470 snaps a season ago and recorded four sacks a season ago. He had multiple other pressures along the way as well.
He was rated as the ‘top-ranked defensive player in the nation’ by ESPN last season, which may have come as a surprise to some Stanford fans.
ESPN utilized their attempt at grading players with their Playstation Player Impact Rating but it merely took a player’s snaps on the field and the final result of the play, regardless of whether that player actually impacted the play or not. Still, Swann had his moments with Stanford and his loss along the defensive line certainly isn’t good news.
His best game came against Cal, in which he had two sacks and multiple defensive stops in the run game as well. We all know how important that can be, though, if you can’t cover or bring the QB down in the scramble game. No need to bring up that game again.
Anyways — thanks for your multiple years of service, Jovan! We wish you well on your journey after Stanford.
Comments
Thanks for the update
Wondered where he was going. Hadn’t seen his name in a long time. Indiana is a good choice. He’ll get the Big 10/TV exposure he needs if he hopes to go pro. And, assuming the Indiana defense doesn’t have a line filled with stars, he has the experience to shine against some of the weaker teams in that conference. I am curious what he’ll be studying as a grad student.
The one comical thing about your post is that ridiculous ESPN rating. I’d feel comfortable saying he was the top ranked defensive player in the country named Swann, but not much more than that. At his size, he needed to be either Aaron Donald quick, which he was not, or super strong, which he was not. My guess is that he’s been working on his strength in the off season. That will help.
But it is worth noting that ESPN is also doing a silly poll right now to name the best college men’s basketball player in history and voters selected Shaquille O’Neal over Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar). I imagine even Shaq is laughing about that one. Three college players were so dominant that they forced changes in the rules: Wilt Chamberlain (had to stay behind the free throw line so you couldn’t dunk free throws), Bill Russell (widening of the key), and Alcindor (no dunking). Of the three, Alcindor won three NCAA championships, Russell two. Wilt and Shaq, zero.
By SU74 on 03.26.20 3:47pm
Agreed
That’s why when I found it — I had to post the ESPN rating because I just couldn’t believe it. No offense to him but nothing I saw in the tape of Swann showed me the best defensive player in a class of Chase Young, Jordan Elliott, Derrick Brown, etc. this past season.
Regardless — it should also be noted that ESPN voting is also silly — thanks for bringing that up too, ha!
By Cam Mellor on 03.27.20 6:41am
I don't understand why Indiana is a better program for him than Stanford
…or why Stanford wouldn’t have wanted to keep him.
By brandtjl1 on 03.26.20 9:26pm
Two reasons why Indiana
1. He’s from Indiana
2. He’s be enrolled in their MBA program, no doubt considerably easier to get into than Stanford’s business school.
By SU74 on 03.27.20 3:58pm
Granted, Stanford's business school is considered the best in the country so Indiana's business school may be easier to get into but that's not the same as saying it's easy. It's in the top 25 in the country.
By GN73 on 03.29.20 8:20am