Reginald Terrell Swinton (born August 24, 1975) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

return specialist A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Murray State Racers The Murray State Racers are the athletic teams that represent Murray State University (MSU), located in Murray, Kentucky, United States, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks (for football, the Football Championship ...

Early years

Swinton attended Central High School and received All-State honors in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and track. He accepted a football scholarship from

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

to play under head coach

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is an American former college football coach and player. He formerly worked for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State Univer ...

. As a junior in 1996, he became the first Murray State player to amass more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season (1,042), while being selected All-Ohio Valley Conference and second-team

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate A ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He also posted 66 receptions (led the team) and 8 receiving touchdowns (tied for the team lead). He contributed to the team winning back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Championships and advancing to quarterfinals of the NCAA

playoffs. He registered 10 receptions for 224 receiving yards (second in school history) and 3 touchdowns (tied school record) against

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

. He set a school record with four 100-yard receiving games. As a senior in 1997, head coach Nutt resigned after accepting the same job at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

. It was later reported that Swinton fell out of favor with the coaching staff. He led the team with 35 receptions for 642 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns. He set a school record with an 80-yard reception against Austin Peay University. From 1994 to 1997, he established the school records for career receptions (144), career receiving yards (2,346), career receiving touchdowns (20) and 100-yard receiving games (7).

Professional career

Swinton was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

after the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

on April 23. He was waived on August 25. His pro career began in February 1999 in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

, who in March traded him along with

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Kerwin Bell Kerwin Douglas Bell (born June 15, 1965) is an American football coach and former player who has been the head coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts football team since 2021. He played professionally as a quarterback for 14 seasons in the Can ...

to the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

in exchange for

Eric Blount Eric Blount (born September 22, 1970) is a former all-star running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL). A North Carolina Tar Heel in college, Blount was drafted by and played two seasons with the Phoeni ...

Mitch Running and two players on the team's negotiation list. The Blue Bombers signed him on July 13, only to be released on August 2. He was re-signed on August 9 and cut again on August 16. During his time with the team he ranked 10th in the CFL in

kickoff returns A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

with a 25.8-yard average and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. On September 13, 1999, he signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the CFL, but was released on October 12. On February 25, 2000, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, but was cut before the start of the season on August 27. In 2001, he was selected by the Las Vegas Outlaws in the 2001 XFL Draft and was cut on January 29 before the start of the season. He resurfaced that same year with the

Arkansas Twisters Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma to the ...

of the

AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

, who initially released him before the stat of the season, only to re-sign him after the fourth game . Swinton led the team and set franchise records with 85 receptions for 1,463 yards, 33 touchdowns and 22 points in 13 games, while also setting the club single-game receiving record (174 yards). His

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

with the Twisters (

Ron Calcagni Ron Calcagni (born February 6, 1957) is a former quarterback for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1975 to 1978. Calcagni was born in Youngstown, Ohio. An All-State in high school, Calcagni was initially recruited by Bo R ...

) recommended him to the

, who in turn would sign him on August 6, 2001. Swinton made the team and set single-season club records for kickoff returns (56), kickoff return yards (1,327), and combined kick return yards (1,741). His 13.7-yard average on

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

s ranked third in the NFL and second in the

NFC NFC usually refers to: * Near-field communication, a set of communication protocols for electronic devices * National Football Conference, part of US National Football League NFC may also refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychol ...

, and his 23.7-yard average on kickoff returns was ninth in the NFL and seventh in the NFC. Even though he was not given punt return duties until week 7, his 414 punt return yards were the seventh most in club history and tied the mark combined kick returns (87). This production earned him second-team All-Pro honors from ''College and Pro Football Newsweekly'' as a punt returner. In 2002, after missing the first two games with a hamstring strain, against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

he broke the franchise record with 231 kickoff return yards in a game and ranked third in team history with 215 combined return yards. His 24.9-yard average on kickoff returns (including a touchdown) ranked tenth in the NFL. He averaged 7.4 yards on punt returns. On September 29, 2003, he was traded to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, in order to groom rookie Zuriel Smith for the returner role. After being declared inactive for a week-5 game, he was cut on September 9, 2003. On October 10, 2003, Swinton was claimed off waivers by the

, to replace

Eddie Drummond Edward Matthew Drummond (born April 12, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and ...

who suffered a sprained knee and ankle against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He finished the season averaging 13.8 yards on punt returns, fourth-best in the NFL. He also was one of only two players in the league (with Kansas City's

Dante Hall Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is nicknamed "the Human Joystick" and "the ...

) to have both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown that season. On September 5, 2004, he was released by the Lions, but was re-signed on September 20 after Drummond was lost for the season with a shoulder injury. In 2004, he averaged 22.8 yards on kickoff returns and 6.5 yards on punt returns, and had his best year as a receiver, catching 18 passes for 410 yards. On April 18, 2005, he signed as a

with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and was waived on September 3. On September 5, he was signed by the

, where as the team's primary kick returner he averaged 23.1 yards on kickoff returns and 8.0 yards on punt returns, after a hamstring and toe injury limited him during the season. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year. Swinton finished with four career NFL kick returns for touchdowns: two on punt returns and two on kickoff returns.

Personal life

On September 17, 2012, he was named Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Football Sports Director of Arkansas. In 2022, Swinton was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame. Swinton has a blended family and is married to Patricia Walker-Swinton. They have four children: Craig Steele (CJ), Sydney Steele, Ryan Swinton, and Reggie Swinton, II. His father and uncle were selected in the

Major League Baseball Draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

. In 2002, he released a rap CD entitled "Whatcha gone do?".

References

External links

Top 10: With Harris Gone, Staff Writers Rank Cowboys' Best Return SpecialistsSwinton sparking returnsAmerican Football Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinton, Reggie 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock Central High School alumni American football wide receivers American football return specialists Murray State Racers football players Dallas Cowboys players Detroit Lions players Arizona Cardinals players Arkansas Twisters players Green Bay Packers players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Edmonton Elks players