NFL dream fulfilled

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B be kick-stepping — is what we call it — backwards and stopping a full grown man’s momentum from getting past you. So, it took me a long time to grasp the speed of learning how to move so quickly — but also being able to stop on a dime and be powerful at the same time.”

Windermere Prep head football coach Brian Simmons — defense assistant at the time Swoboda played with the Lakers — describes him as intelligent and willing to learn.

“He’s kind of a laid-back guy,” he said. “He’s always been one of those kids (who) just wanted to get better on the field — always soaking up information. You could challenge him, and he would accept challenges and not get offended. He’s one of those kids who didn’t want to hear what he wanted to hear. (Instead), he wanted to hear things that would get him better, and he would respond to those things.”

Motor City

Swoboda spent the time waiting through the 2023 NFL Draft in the garden with his parents.

“I knew up to that point, I’d done all my training,” he said. “I played all my amateur football, ... There is nothing I could do on that weekend to change what would happen. … So, I went and I bought a couple of trees, and I worked in the yard landscaping all day, and I just left my phone in ringer on to see if a team would call me. … I just worked in the yard all day to get my mind off of it. … I planted an orange tree, a papaya tree and then a couple of banana trees. I just dug, and it took all day.”

And perhaps his chosen way to pass the time — in the trenches and doing the dirty work — is what impressed the Detroit Lions enough to sign him to a free agent contract. Swoboda will be among 90 players who will participate in the Detroit Lions minicamps for several weeks to determine who will make the final 53 on the roster.

“What I love about being an offensive tackle is that it’s a thankless position,” Swoboda said. “If things go well, the quarterback, the running back, the receivers will get a lot of love, a lot of credit. And, if things go wrong, it’s usually the offensive line’s fault. So, you don’t win, generally. But, if you play football, everybody knows that the games are won in the trenches with the linemen, together. So, just

Fun Facts

n Ryan Swoboda is learning

American Sign Language n His wingspan is 85.5 inches n Swoboda graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history n He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education at UCF knowing that you are doing something for the greater good of the team, you are sacrificing everything to try and help other people her successful and — if you are unsuccessful — somebody else could get hurt, because somebody else is getting hit now. So, just doing that thankless job and trying to free other people up to be successful, it’s a powerful thing.”

Swoboda said he is excited for his opportunity to beat the odds and secure a spot on the Lions roster. In fact, his position — as an undrafted free agent — motivates him.

“Being a free agent, you start at the bottom of the totem pole; you are an undrafted free agent,” he said. “And I’m kind of used to that. When I came to Windermere, I started at the bottom of the totem pole and I remember looking up at the people playing the games and thinking, ‘God, I wish I could be there.’ I really wanted that, and I slowly climbed. … It’s my job to make the most of it.”

And as he reports to Detroit this week, Swoboda will do so with some of his earliest football memories at the forefront of his mind.

“One of my favorite early memories was my sophomore year,” he said. “I had just started playing football … and a senior on the team … returned a kickoff. I was on the sideline, and he runs it in for a touchdown. On the film, the camera pans over to just (him), and you see me on the sidelines sprinting, freaking out — like I have my helmet, and I’m just wailing, celebrating — running down the sideline.”

And what about being the first Laker to get signed by the NFL? Swoboda believes it’s pretty cool.

“It’s awesome,” he said. ‘The team has ... got a lot of guys who will be playing at the next level and, hopefully, I can just kind of help with the stigma (that) small-school guys generally don’t go to college and play football for a long time. Hopefully, you can give some other people some opportunities.”