A senior with a kick

By Chris Vannini (Last updated: 11/19/09 11:26pm)

It is winter 2006, and then-freshman kicker Brett Swenson is alone, playing in the snow. While his teammates are sweating in the indoor practice facility at the Duffy Daugherty Football Building, Swenson is clearing the snow outside and kicking field goals.

Kicking in the cold is something Swenson wasn’t used to, coming from Pompano Beach, Fla. Although he grew up in New York, he went to high school in Florida before coming to East Lansing to play college football.

“It was a big adjustment,” Swenson said. “I remember days when it’d be snowing outside and the whole team would be practicing in the indoor facility, I would go out for about a half hour on the field, clear off the snow and kind of kick out there, just to get a feel for it because not being in that situation before. I have to try and put myself in that element.”

Swenson often has been in that element, and he, along with 20 other seniors, will be playing his last game at Spartan Stadium on Saturday. But Swenson will leave with something most college players don’t — a record book. The senior holds almost every major kicking record at MSU.

“I don’t know if I hoped it would be this good,” he said. “Everything’s been going well and (I’m) hoping it can continue through this last game. There’s been a lot of milestones I feel I’ve made throughout my career out here.”

Well-traveled

Swenson committed to play for the Spartans under former head coach John L. Smith. Swenson said MSU offered him an opportunity that most schools don’t.

“What got me up here was the opportunity to possibly to be able to kick as a true freshman,” he said. “I didn’t want to redshirt coming out of high school, so that was a big factor, as well as the great tradition of kickers that have been out here, and I just wanted to be a part of that.”

Swenson moved to Florida before high school and attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a school with rich football history. The school boasts athletic alumni including tennis star Chris Evert and NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin.

Although the school has one of the top high school football programs in the nation, head coach George Smith said Swenson sticks out among the school’s greats.

“He was an extremely, extremely hard worker — very detail-oriented, as far as his mechanics,” Smith said. “We’ve had our share of real good kickers, and he’s certainly one of the best ever.”

Swenson came out of high school as the No. 4 kicker in the nation, according to recruiting Web site Rivals.com.

“You never had to worry about him not getting things done for you,” Smith said. “You always trusted that he was going to be there when you counted on him. Everybody says kickers are kind of strange; he was never anything like that.”

Freshman All-American

A wide-eyed freshman, Swenson trotted onto the Spartan Stadium field looking to hit his first field goal in his first career game against Idaho, a 35-yarder. He already had hit two extra-points, but this was his first time playing in front of 75,000 people and he was — understandably — a little nervous.

“The holder, Brandon Fields … calmed me down and told me, ‘Just go out here and do what you’ve been doing all preseason,’” Swenson said. “Luckily, the kick went through and started the career off right. Everyone seemed ecstatic in the stands.”

Swenson was a breath of fresh air for a team that was a dismal 5-for-16 on field-goal attempts the previous season.

Swenson finished his freshman year 15-for-19 and was named a freshman All-American by numerous media outlets.

“As a freshman, people aren’t sure what to expect, so you just went out there, played loose and that’s what you have to always try to do,” he said.

Mr. Clutch

A kicker often is judged solely on how he performs in pressure situations.

In his freshman season, Swenson nailed a 28-yarder with 13 seconds remaining against Northwestern to cap the biggest comeback in Football Bowl Subdivision history, as MSU won 41-38, coming back from 35 points down.

Last season, Swenson hit possibly the biggest kick of his career — a 44-yarder with seven seconds left to give the Spartans a one-point victory against Wisconsin.

Swenson also ended his final road game in the best possible way last week: hitting a 21-yarder with less than two minutes remaining to give the Spartans a 40-37 victory and clinch bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season.

But for as many game-winning kicks Swenson has had, not one sticks out in his mind — they all do.

“I can remember any one of my kicks in my career,” he said. “You can say a game, I’d tell you where I had kicks from, the yard line, made or missed. You kind of remember all of that. Obviously, you don’t have too many field goals and they mean a lot to you and you know just about every one of them.”

Record-breaker

Throughout Swenson’s four years, he has managed to break almost every kicking record and will go down as one of the best in a long line of great MSU kickers.

Swenson will finish his career as the school’s all-time leader in scoring, field goals and extra points. He also is in the top five in Big Ten history in kick scoring, field goals and total points.

“To be atop that list right now, it’s crazy how time flies by and all that,” he said. “I’m glad where I am and hopefully, these next few games, we can continue to do well and I’m sure down the road someone will be breaking these records. It’s just the way it goes.”

The previous school record holder for scoring, field goals and extra points was Dave Rayner, who kicked from 2001-04. Rayner and Swenson have worked out several times together and Rayner said he was happy for Swenson’s success.

“He’s a good kid,” Rayner said. “It’s a cool thing that a good guy has the records.”

Rayner said having the kicking records at a school that includes great kickers such as Morten Andersen and Paul Edinger is a tremendous honor.

“There have been some great kickers that have been there,” he said. “To be known as one of the greatest or having a record I think was really an honor.”

Award Winner?

On Nov. 9, Swenson was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, annually given to the nation’s top kicker.

The winner will be announced Dec. 10.

Despite the honor, Swenson said he has tried not to focus on possibly becoming the first Lou Groza Award winner in school history.

“It means a lot. I just want to finish it strong,” Swenson said. “You can’t really get complacent, you want to keep doing better, but I’m happy where I am. I feel things are OK, but obviously things can always be better you feel like, but I’m satisfied.”

Moving on

When Swenson hits his final kick, he will leave knowing he helped convert a football program that was in disarray when he arrived into a much-improved team.

“When you look at what he’s done for this program, having a field goal kicker that’s getting around 90 points — at least in my time as a football coach — it’s spelled success in terms of a bowl game for us,” head coach Mark Dantonio said.

Swenson said he will miss everything about MSU, but there is one, or more than 100, things he will miss.

“Probably the 105 guys that I’m with all the time,” he said of what he’ll miss. “We wake up in the morning, we’re here lifting together, running, we’re hanging out at night. Being from Florida and other guys from out of state, the team is really all we know and that’s what I’m going to miss. I’m not going to forget any of these guys for a long time.”

Originally Published: 11/19/09 8:24pm