Nate Swift

Honors & Awards

• 2008 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches, AP)
• Nebraska Record Holder for Career Receptions (166)
• Second in NU History in Season Receiving Yards (941), Career Receiving Yards (2,476), Season Receptions (63 in 2008)
• Season TD List (10), Career TD List (22)
• 2008 Guy Chamberlin Trophy Winner
• Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week (2008 vs. Virginia Tech)
• Nebraska Freshman Record Holder for Receptions (45), Yards (641) and TDs (7)
• 2005 Honorable-Mention All-Big 12 (AP)
• 2005 First-Team Freshman All-Big 12 (Sporting News)
• Two-Time Second-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2005, 2006)
• Three-Time Big 12 Commissioner’s Fall Academic Honor Roll (2004, 2007, 2008)
• Two-Time Big 12 Commissioner’s Spring Academic Honor Roll (2005, 2008)

2008 (Season)
Nate Swift completed a record-setting Nebraska career in 2008, as he reached or moved near the top of nearly all of the Cornhuskers’ season and career receiving charts. Swift began an assault on the Nebraska record book during his redshirt freshman season in 2005 and that pursuit continued to his final game.

Swift left Nebraska as the school’s career receptions leader with 166 catches and ranked second in receiving yards at 2,476, just three yards behind Johnny Rodgers. Swift’s 63 catches and 941 receiving yards in 2008 were also both second on the single-season lists, and his 22 career touchdown catches were also second on the Nebraska chart. His 10 touchdown receptions as a senior ranked second on the season list.

Swift played in 51 games during his four-year career, with 29 starts, including all 13 games in 2008. As a senior, Swift and fellow senior Todd Peterson teamed to give Nebraska one of the Big 12’s top 1-2 receiving tandems. The duo posted the second- and third-best reception totals in school history, respectively, and combined for 125 receptions, 1,727 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. Their play paced a passing game that ranked 15th nationally and helped Nebraska rank 12th in total offense. The Huskers passed for at least 200 yards in all 12 games, topped 400 yards of total offense nine times and scored 30 points in 10 of 12 games.

One of four team captains, Swift caught at least one pass in all 13 games, finishing his career with 18 straight games with at least one catch. He had at least one catch in 45 of 51 games in his career and had 13 career games with five or more catches.

He opened 2008 with five catches for a season-high 121 yards and two touchdowns against Western Michigan. In non-conference play he added six grabs for 70 yards against New Mexico State. Swift had five receptions for 45 yards and a 20-yard touchdown against Missouri and added five catches for 70 yards at Texas Tech. Swift had a huge first half at Iowa State, catching eight passes for 112 yards and his fourth touchdown of the season in a 35-7 Husker victory.

Swift then had a career day against Baylor in Lincoln. Swift hauled in a career-high 11 passes and tied his season-high with 121 receiving yards. With his 11 receptions, Swift set the Nebraska career receptions record, besting the previous record of 143 receptions by Rodgers. Swift set the record in style with a nine-yard touchdown reception late in the third quarter to give NU a 24-20 lead. On his next catch, he caught a 53-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure the Nebraska victory.

He had a career-long 67-yard reception at Oklahoma, then added his fourth game over the century mark against Kansas with seven receptions for 111 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown. Swift added four receptions for 98 yards at Kansas State, with all four of his receptions covering at least 20 yards. He closed his home career with a two-yard touchdown reception against Colorado, then added three catches, including a 17-yard third-quarter touchdown in the Gator Bowl.

Swift finished the season ranked 12th in the Big 12 Conference in receiving yards per game, and was one of 10 players in the league to record four or more 100-yard receiving games in 2008.

The passing game was not the only area where Swift made a significant impact. He was also Nebraska’s primary punt returner and averaged 14.8 yards per return to rank second in the Big 12 and tied for eighth nationally. Swift’s year was highlighted by an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown against Virginia Tech. The play earned Swift honors as the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. Swift’s overall play earned him honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors in a league that featured many of the nation’s top receivers.

2007 (Junior)
Swift put together a third straight impressive season, helping Nebraska rank in the top 10 nationally in passing offense. He played in all 12 games with eight starts at the "X" receiver spot. He finished third on the team with 36 receptions for 520 yards, an average of 14.4 yards per catch. Swift had five games with four or more catches in 2008 and had at least one reception in 11 games.

Swift caught five passes for 45 yards in the Huskers’ road win at Wake Forest, then had four catches for 56 yards against top-ranked USC. After his first touchdown of the year against Ball State, Swift had four catches each against Iowa State and Missouri.

Swift produced his best game of 2007 at Texas with a season-high six catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns, marking the third two-touchdown game of his career. He caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Sam Keller just before halftime, and added a 23-yard score in the third quarter. He was also on the receiving end of a two-point conversion in the game. Swift caught a pair of passes against Kansas State to crack the century mark in career receptions.

2006 (Sophomore)
Swift played in all 14 games with starts against Kansas and Kansas State, and finished with 22 catches for 374 yards, an average of 17.0 yards per catch. He had a catch in each of the final 11 games, and had touchdown catches against Texas and Auburn.

Swift opened with three receptions for 46 yards in a win over Louisiana Tech, then had three catches for 79 yards against Troy, including a career-long 49-yard reception. He set up NU’s winning overtime score against Kansas with a 21-yard reception to the Jayhawk 1 yard line. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Swift caught a pass for a successful two-point conversion that proved crucial.

Swift’s first touchdown catch of 2006 came against Texas from I-back Marlon Lucky on a halfback-option pass. The 25-yard score helped the Huskers take a late fourth-quarter lead. He added two catches for 56 yards against Missouri, including a spectacular fourth-quarter grab to set up a touchdown. He capped the year with three receptions against Auburn, including a 13-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

Swift had three punt returns for 50 yards, including two for 49 yards against Nicholls State, with an NU season-long 33-yarder.

2005 (Redshirt Freshman)
Swift was impressive as a redshirt freshman in 2005, finishing as the team leader in receptions (45), receiving yardage (641) and receiving touchdowns (7). His numbers all set school freshman records and earned him honorable-mention All-Big 12 honors. At the time, his 45 catches were the third-most in Nebraska history. His seven scoring receptions all came in the final six games, marking the most in a season for a Husker since tight end Gerald Armstrong had seven in 1992. In Big 12 games, Swift averaged 5.3 catches and 76.3 yards per game to rank sixth in the conference.

Swift had the top three single-game reception efforts by a Husker freshman with three games of seven or more catches. His 135-yard receiving effort at Missouri represented the most receiving yards ever by a Husker freshman in a regular-season game.

After not catching a pass during non-league play, Swift caught five passes for 81 yards in a win over Iowa State, helping NU to a then-school-record 431 passing yards. Swift was at his best in the season’s final six games. He caught nine passes for 135 yards and his first career touchdown at Missouri. He put together another huge effort the following week against Oklahoma with nine receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. His back-to-back nine-catch efforts are tied for seventh by a Husker in a game, and his two-game total of 18 catches rank second in school history. He was also the first Husker with consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Irving Fryar in 1983.

Swift added seven catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas State, including a season-long 34-yard reception. He joined Johnny Rodgers and Irving Fryar as the only Huskers with three 100-yard receiving games in a season. Swift capped the year with four catches for 77 yards and a touchdown at Colorado, and three receptions and a score against Michigan in the Alamo Bowl.

2004 (Redshirt)
Swift redshirted in his first season at Nebraska.

Before Nebraska (Hutchinson HS)
Swift and Hutchinson High School teammate Lydon Murtha were the first Minnesotans to sign with Nebraska since 1995. Swift was a three-year starter on both sides of the ball for Coach Andy Rostberg's team. Swift led the state with 2,500 yards rushing and scored 30 total touchdowns, 29 by rush, helping Hutchinson to the Class 4A title game.

Swift was named the Metro Player of the Year by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and was the Minnesota Player of the Year according to the Associated Press. He also earned first-team all-state and all-metro honors as a running back, and for the third straight year earned first-team All-Missota Conference and all-area honors. Swift rushed for more than 1,000 yards, with more than 900 receiving yards and 25 total touchdowns as a junior, helping his team to the state semifinals, and earned first-team all-state honors (AP) as a kick returner. He finished his career with 4,396 yards rushing, 1,648 yards receiving and 72 total touchdowns, while adding 16 interceptions. Swift chose Nebraska over Minnesota.

Personal
The son of Jeff and Lori Swift, Nate was born on Aug. 24, 1985. He is majoring in construction management, and is a two-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll pick and a first-team academic All-Big 12 pick in 2005. He has volunteered with the Lincoln Action Program and Nebraska’s hospital visits.

Swift's Career Statistics

Year

G/S

No.

Yds.

Y/R

Y/G

Long

TDs

2004

Redshirt

2005 12/6 45 641 14.2 53.4 34 vs. Kansas St. 7

2006

14/2

22

374

17.0

26.7

49 vs. Troy

2

2007

12/8

36

520

14.4

43.3

35 at Texas

3

2008 13/13 63 941 14.9 72.4 67 at Oklahoma 10

Totals

51/29

166

2,476

14.9

48.5

67 at Oklahoma

22

 

 

 

 

Punt Returns: 28-352-1 total; 3-50-0 in 2006, 2-6-0 in 2007; long 33 vs. Nicholls State, 2006;
23-296-1 in 2008; long, 88 vs. Virginia Tech, 2008

Single-Game Best:
Receptions?11 vs. Baylor, 2008
Receiving Yards?135 vs. Missouri, 2005
Long Reception?67 yards at Oklahoma, 2008
Touchdowns?2, five times