John Wesley Swain (born September 4, 1959) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Swain was drafted out of the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the fourth round in the

1981 NFL draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York She ...

. He played a total of 7 seasons in the NFL for the Vikings, the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, and the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. He currently serves as a Uniform Inspector for the NFL. Swain is also the current NFL Heads Up Youth Ambassador for the state of Minnesota where he helps young football players to play the game better and safer through education, coaching certifications, and teaching proper playing techniques. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Next Level Foundation, a non-profit created to promote educational programs and events that are designed to provide family support and to raise the educational levels of students in Minnesota and other areas of the country including members of the minority community, who are substantially unemployed, underemployed, or those whose income is below the federal poverty guidelines; to foster and promote interest and concern for the problems of youth so educational and economic opportunities may be expanded. Through the Next Level Foundation he provides football camps, athletic development programs, after school motivational programs, and scholarships to under served youth in Minnesota.

External links

Stats at databasefootball.comPlaying It Smart Heads Up Football Program TeachingWhere Are They Now John Swain

Former Vikings CB John Swain Hosts Heads Up Clinic For CoachesJohn Swain Steelers Cornerback
1959 births Living people Players of American football from Miami American football cornerbacks Miami Hurricanes football players Minnesota Vikings players Miami Dolphins players Pittsburgh Steelers players National Football League replacement players Miami Carol City Senior High School alumni {{defensiveback-1950s-stub