The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? points you should be considering. You answered all my questions on why you made those decisions, and I wish you the best of luck.'" Swett spent much of his redshirt year as a practice squad fullback, with illusions [or delusions, he'd say] of becoming U-M's next great running fullback. As good friend and fellow blue-chip Pennsylvanian Jon Ritchie discovered, though, the position was "a glorified guard" in Michigan's of- fense, Swett recalled. Ritchie eventu- ally left for Stanford, where he got the ball enough to earn a long NFL career. For Swett it meant a move to line- backer, the position for which many felt he was better suited. Swett made an impact almost im- mediately, notching eight tackles in the '94 opener with Boston College and seeing extensive action on special teams that year before tearing up an ankle in the 1994 Holiday Bowl win over Colorado State. He picked off a pass in his first start the following sea- son, U-M's thrilling, 18-17 win over Virginia in the 1995 Kickoff Classic, and notched his best season statisti- cally with 57 tackles and four pass breakups. Nerve damage in his neck and four surgeries — three on his ankles and one on his wrist — slowed Swett in his final two years, but he saw plenty of action and was one of the key con- tributors on a 1997 defense that ranks among the best in program history. The game that put the national championship within reach — a 34-8 drubbing of the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley — might have been the red letter game on Swett's schedule after three consecutive losses to PSU. It started with defensive lineman The Rob Swett File Michigan Accomplishments: Four-year letterman, 1994-97 … Started eight games in 1995 and three in the 1997 national championship season, playing through several injuries … Won the John Maulbetsch Award in 1994 as the team's top freshman after spring practice … Notched 98 tackles (66 solo) and four interceptions in his four years, overcoming various injuries that required four surgeries. Michigan Memory: Michigan's 1997, 34-8 win was one of U-M's most dominant against a highly ranked oppo- nent. The defense was one of the reasons why. "I remember one play in particular, we're standing in the huddle and it's a third-and-long," Swett recalled. "[Safety] Marcus Ray comes up to me, taps me and says, 'Hey — if they go double wide here, you get out on that inside re- ceiver and redirect him. He's going to come right to me.'" Sure enough, the Nittany Lions came out with two re- ceivers on each side. "I chuck this receiver and disrupt his route, Marcus steps in, the quarterback throws to the slot receiver, Marcus steps in front of him and picks it off," Swett recalled with a laugh. "To this day, we laugh about that play. We couldn't have drawn it up any better on the board." Current Occupation: Owner of Robert Stephen Homes, LTD., a custom homebuilder in Austin, Texas. Education: Swett graduated with his liberal arts degree in 1998. Family: Swett and his wife, Julie, will celebrate their 10th anniversary this year. They have three daughters: Macie (8), Megan (6) and Addison (6 months). FEBRUARY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 85 Swett started eight games in 1995 and three in the 1997 national championship season. PHOTO COURTESY ROB SWETT Glen Steele's sack on PSU quarterback Mike McQueary, and the dominance continued throughout, pushing the Wolverines to No. 1 in the polls. "I'll never forget the picture in the paper the next day was Glen and I standing over McQueary. Glen had just sacked him, and I'm celebrating over the top of him," Swett recalled. "That really set the tone for that game, because there wasn't a doubt after that. A sack on the first play … hit you in the mouth. Here we come. "Down there on the field there are games from the first snap you just know it, that hey, we're going to win. There was never a doubt." Swett worked with the football program following graduation and considered becoming a coach before a former teammate, Dave Dobreff, helped hook him up with a job in Chicago. It was there that Swett met his future wife, Julie, who (along with an 80-degree February day or two) convinced him to move to Texas. He worked with Morgan Stanley before starting his own business, Robert Ste- phen Homes, LTD., at the age of 30, creating a successful business build- ing custom homes in the Austin area and beyond. Though miles away, his heart is never far from Ann Arbor. He and his teammates were part of one of the more special eras in Michigan foot- ball history, and he's there to relive the memories at reunions, making it back to Ann Arbor whenever he can. He and teammate Zach Adami even spent an hour with former coach Lloyd Carr in New Orleans prior to Michigan's Sugar Bowl win over Vir- ginia Tech. "I remember singing 'The Victors' in the locker room after the Rose Bowl and barely being able to get through it," he recalled. "The emotion of it — that was the last time I was in my uniform. The relationships with the players, the coaches that were there, it was just something special. That was the tightest-knit team I've ever been part of, and there was nothing that would get between us and what our goals were. "The further away you get from it, you understand just how special that group was, and how special a season it was. We have a bond as a result of it. When you're in the trenches, you have that cliché of the war theme, but you really are out there giving the blood, sweat and tears for four or five years. To have it end the way it did, it was really special." ❑