Tom Allen Thrilled Stanford Grad Jovan Swann Chose to Come Home to Indiana

Jovan Swann won at state championship at Center Grove, and now he's going to finish his college football career in Bloomington. His leadership skills will shine at Indiana.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — You can never have too many quality defensive linemen on a football team, and Jovan Swann's arrival from Stanford as a graduate transfer comes with a huge bonus.

Swann, a former Center Grove High School star, is a fine player in his own right, and he'll also be a perfect fit in that D-line room because that's a group full of young talent. 

His leadership skills will come in handy, Indiana coach Tom Allen said Wednesday. It was his first opportunity to talk about him since Swann signed with the Hoosiers

"He's a young man that will help our defense, because he's just a really good football player. He will make an impact right away,'' Allen said. "But what I am very excited about his leadership. We have a very young room with a lot of talent. He'll have the courage and confidence to verbally lead that room.

"I think that's something that he will bring to us, and his production, you can never have enough good defensive linemen in this league. He's a grown man, has a mature body type for sure being a senior, and he's coming in here ready to play.

Swann was a state champion at Center Grove and the 6-foot-2, 270-pound lineman  graduated from Stanford with a degree in human biology. He'll be in the Kelley School of Business MBA Management program and will have one year of eligibility remaining.  

"He's just such a huge addition to our team for a variety of reasons,'' Allen said. "He's a tremendous, high-character young man with strong leadership skills. He's a graduate from Stanford University from Center Grove High School, just thirty minutes up the road here. 

"We really worked hard to recruit him once he made the decision to be a grad transfer, and getting an Indiana kid to come home and finish out here close to family is pretty awesome. I'm really excited about Jovan Swann and his addition to our football program.''