Sam Lee-Arthur Sword (born December 9, 1974) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player. A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Sword played college football as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1995 to 1998. He was the leading tackler on the undefeated 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team that led the country in scoring defense and total defense and was ranked #1 in the final AP Poll. He led Michigan in tackles for three consecutive years, and his 265 solo tackles ranks third in school history. Sword also played four seasons of professional football as a linebacker and on special teams in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in 1999 and for the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

from 2000 to 2002. He appeared in 45 NFL games, eight as a starter, and registered 66 tackles.

Early years

Sword was born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1974. He attended

Arthur Hill High School Arthur Hill High School is a public high school in Saginaw, Michigan, United States. It serves students in grades 9-12 as one of three high schools in the Saginaw Public School District. History The school was named after a successful lumb ...

in Saginaw. Sword played football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

at Arthur Hill. He played middle linebacker and tight end for the football team, led the 1991 team to a state championship, and received all-state honors. He was later inducted into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame.

University of Michigan

Sword enrolled at the

in 1994 and played college football for head coach Lloyd Carr's

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

teams from 1995 to 1998. After redshirting in 1994, he started four games at inside linebacker in 1995. As a sophomore in 1996, Sword started all 12 games at inside linebacker for Michigan. He led the team with 108 tackles, including 72 solo tackles. As a junior, Sword started 11 games at inside linebacker for the undefeated 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team that outscored opponents 322–144, won the Big Ten Conference championship, defeated Washington State in the 1998 Rose Bowl, and was ranked #1 in the final AP Poll. He had a career-high 13 solo tackles against Notre Dame and was the team's leading tackler (91 tackles, including 69 solo tackles)(To retrieve Sword's statistics, enter "sword" in the box for the player's last name. To retrieve 1997 season leaders, go to "Games and Totals by Season" and enter 1997, and then enter Display Season Totals.) on a 1997 squad that led the country in both scoring defense (8.9 points per game) and total defense (206.9 yards per game). At the end of the season, he was selected by a Midwest media panel as a first-team linebacker on the 1997 All-Big Ten team. As a senior in 1998, Sword started 12 games and led the team with 127 tackles, including 93 solo tackles. He was also selected as a second-team All-Big Ten player by both the conference coaches and media. He became the second player in Michigan history to lead the team in tackles three consecutive years. ( Erick Anderson led the team in tackles four consecutive years from 1988 to 1991.) In four years at Michigan, Sword started 39 games and totaled 370 tackles, including 265 solo tackles, five

pass breakup In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

s, three

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

recoveries, and one interception. His 265 solo tackle ranks third in Michigan history behind Jarrett Irons (296) and Erick Anderson (286).(to retrieve a list of Michigan's all-time leaders in solo tackle, go to the "Individual Statistical Leaders" section and select the drop-downs for "Career", "Defense" and "Tackles") He was named the 1997 and 1998 winner of The Roger Zatkoff Award as the team's best linebacker.

Professional football

Sword was undrafted in the 1999 NFL Draft but signed as a free agent with the

. He appeared in 10 games for the Raiders, five of them as a starter, during the 1999 season. In 2000, Sword joined the

and remained with the club for three seasons. He appeared in all 16 regular season games in 2001 and 2002, principally as a special teams player, and started three games at linebacker. In four NFL seasons, Sword appeared in 45 games, eight as a starter at linebacker, and recorded 66 tackles and two sacks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sword, Sam 1974 births African-American players of American football American football linebackers Indianapolis Colts players Living people Michigan Wolverines football players Oakland Raiders players Sportspeople from Saginaw, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople