Sam Swank (born October 5, 1985) 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 ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for Wake Forest, he was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2009. He was also a member of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Hartford Colonials The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominally ...

, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

College career

After redshirting as a true freshman in 2004, Swank was a four-year starter at placekicker for Wake Forest and usually handled punting duties, as well. As a sophomore in 2006, Swank was voted

ACC Championship Game The ACC Championship Game is an annual American college football game held in early December by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) each year to determine its football champion. From its inception in 2005 to 2022, the game pit the champion of ...

's Most Valuable Player, scoring all nine points in Wake Forest's 9–6 victory over Georgia Tech. Swank finished his career as the all-time leading scorer at Wake Forest with 337 points, setting school records with 71 field goals and 124 career PATs.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Swank was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after being

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. He was waived on May 27, 2009.

Cincinnati Bengals

Swank signed with the

on August 24, 2009 after

Shayne Graham suffered a groin injury. He was waived during final cuts on September 5, 2009.

New York Giants

After spending the 2009 season out of football, Swank was signed to a future contract by the

on January 6, 2010. He was waived on June 11.

Hartford Colonials

Swank was signed by the

of the United Football League on November 8, 2010.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Swank was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 9, 2011. He was waived on August 25. He was re-signed following the 2011 season on April 16, 2012. He was waived again on April 27.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsCincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swank, Sam 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida Players of American football from Florida American football punters American football placekickers Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Philadelphia Eagles players Cincinnati Bengals players New York Giants players Hartford Colonials players Jacksonville Jaguars players