Indiana Freshman Wideout Javon Swinton Impressing During Fall Camp
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Javon Swinton ran an out route to the sideline, draped in coverage from the Indiana defense during the Hoosiers' first inter-squad preseason game on Saturday.
Backup quarterback Jack Tuttle threw the ball in his direction. The ball looked a little high, but Swinton rose up over the defender, stretched out his right arm and snagged in a one-handed catch by the sideline.
The catch was met by a collective "OH!" from his teammates as both his feet touched down inbounds.
"Inbounds catch. Inbounds catch," Tom Allen called from his megaphone as Swinton was already heading back to the huddle for the offense's next play.
That play, that catch and that athletic ability is just one example of how Swinton has impressed Indiana's coaching staff as the freshman gears up for his first collegiate season.
"I would say from this past weekend, Javon Swinton made some plays that really caught my eye, as he has done that consistently this fall," Allen said on Monday.
Swinton is coming from North Stafford High School in Stafford, Va. During his senior season, he posted 48 catches for 858 yards and 13 touchdowns. But that's not all he did.
Swinton added 46 tackles, two interceptions, seven pass breakups and one forced fumble that season as well. Not to mention he lettered in basketball, averaged 27.0 points per game in 2019 and is North Stafford's all-time leading scorer.
When he committed to Indiana football, he did so under the title of "athlete," meaning it was up to the Hoosier coaching staff to find out which position they wanted him to play.
So far, that position has been receiver.
"I feel that our entire receiver corps have looked really good," Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said last week. "We have some young guys like Javon Swinton that is doing really well on the outside and getting a lot of reps."
Indiana lost some talented receivers such as Nick Westbrook and Donavan Hale, but they return Whop Philyor and Ty Fryfogle, and hope to see growth in guys like Miles Marshall and David Ellis, as well as freshmen Rashawn Williams and Jordan Jakes.
Swinton is 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, bringing some decent size and a lot of athletic ability to Indiana's receiving core. He can be another dangerous weapon to an already-explosive Hoosier offense.
But perhaps something that has stood out even more than his on-field talent has been is off-field intangibles.
"The thing about Javon that has really impressed me, and I shared this with our staff yesterday, is that when you think about a young man coming in as a true freshman, he does everything as he is supposed to do," Allen said.
"There are never issues academically, whenever he is told to do something, he never shows up on a list where he is late for something or this did not get done or you did not follow through on this or that. He always takes care of his business and does not say a whole lot. He studies, he has been prepared and he has made plays. That is a great formula for a true freshman."
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