When he was signed to the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad in 2014, tight end Erik Swoope had never played football in his life.
Two-plus years later, Swoope scored the first touchdown of that life Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings on a 27-yard pass from Andrew Luck.
Swoope, 24, was a college basketball player at the University of Miami, where he averaged 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds as a senior. He then spent almost two seasons on the Colts’ practice squad and gained 20 pounds before he earned a promotion to the active roster in the 2015 season finale.
This year, he made the team as the No. 3 tight end, and he entered Sunday’s game with 10 catches for 180 yards.
The only thing left to do for the 6-foot-5, 257-pounder to do was score a TD, and now he can cross that off his list, too. Not bad for a guy who looks at tape of himself from 2014 and sees someone who was “small, timid and confused.”
