Erik Swoope (born May 8, 1992) is an American former football player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

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). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at 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, i ...

. Despite never having played organized football, he was signed by the Indianapolis Colts 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 ...

after the 2014 NFL Draft.

High school career

Swoope attended Harvard-Westlake High School and played on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team. As a senior, he averaged 21.8 points, 8.9

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game, as well as 2.8 steals as well as 71%

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

percentage. He recorded 16 games of 20-or-more points, including eight with 30-or-more points. He scored 10-or-more points in all but two games that season. He also recorded 12 double-doubles, including one 30-point, 21-rebound game. He recorded a season high 40 points on 14-17 shooting, including shooting 12-of-13 free throws. He was also named the Mission League Most Valuable Player (MVP). The '' Los Angeles Daily News'' called him the "most dominant boys' basketball player" in the San Fernando Valley. He was rated the 41st overall

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

College career

Swoope attended the

, where he

majored An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. As a freshman during the 2010–11 season, he appeared in 29 games (nine starts) as a true freshman. He averaged 1.4 points and one rebound in 6.5 minutes per game. He was named to the 2011

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

All-Academic Basketball team. As a sophomore in the 2011–12 season, he appeared in 23 games (eight starts). He averaged 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game, while shooting 50% (23-of-46) from the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

and 47.1% free throw percentage. As a junior during the 2012–13 season, he appeared in 27 games. He averaged 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 18-of-28 (64.3%) from the field. As a senior in the 2013–14 season, he appeared in 31 games (10 starts). He averaged five points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks and 18.4 minutes per game. For his career, he appeared in 110 games (27 starts). He averaged 2.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.3 steals, 0.3 assists, 0.3 blocks in 10.8 minutes per game.

College statistics

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

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Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

After going

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 2014 NFL Draft, Swoope signed with the Indianapolis Colts on May 11, 2014. and was

waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

on August 30. The Colts then signed Swoope to their practice squad on September 1, and on January 19, 2015, he signed a reserve/future contract to remain with the Colts. Swoope was waived by the Colts on September 5, and signed to the practice squad the next day. On December 30, 2015, Swoope was elevated to the active roster for the first time, after

Dwayne Allen Dwayne Lamont Allen (born February 24, 1990) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Clemson, where he won the John Mackey Award as a junior, and ...

was placed on injured reserve. Swoope started his first career game against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

during Week 2 of the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

season. Swoope caught his first career touchdown in a 34–6 win over 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 expansi ...

in Week 15. On September 4, 2017, Swoope was placed on injured reserve after undergoing minor knee surgery in August 2017. On September 13, 2018, Swoope was waived by the Colts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted back to the active roster on September 22, 2018. He was waived again on September 28, 2018 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on October 3, 2018. One day later, he scored his first touchdown since the 2016 season against the New England Patriots in a 38–24 loss on ''Thursday Night Football''. On December 11, 2018, Swoope was waived by the Colts.

New Orleans Saints

On December 12, 2018, Swoope was claimed off waivers by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, only to be waived the next day after failing his physical.

Indianapolis Colts (second stint)

On December 26, 2018, Swoope was signed to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad.

Oakland Raiders

On May 21, 2019, Swoope signed with the Oakland Raiders. He was waived on July 30, 2019.

San Francisco 49ers

Swoope had a tryout with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

on August 23, 2020, and signed with the team two days later. He was waived on August 29.

Career statistics

Personal life

Swoope is the son of Denise and Gerald Swoope. He has a brother named Devin Swoope.

References

External links

Miami Hurricanes men's basketball bio

Indianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swoope, Erik 1992 births Living people People from Lake Elsinore, California American men's basketball players Basketball players from California American football tight ends Harvard-Westlake School alumni Miami Hurricanes men's basketball players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players Oakland Raiders players Power forwards San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Riverside County, California