
Swank Named Rivals.Com First Team All-American
11/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 30, 2006
Nashville, Tenn. - Wake Forest sophomore Sam Swank has been selected as the first team All-America placekicker by Rivals.com. Swank is 18-of-24 on field goals this season and a perfect 32-of-32 on extra points. Swank leads the nation with five field goals from beyond 50 yards on seven attempts.
Overall, Swank has made eight of his last 10 field goal attempts. He tied an NCAA record on Oct. 14 in a win against NC State when he nailed three field goals from beyond 50 yards.
Swank has made two field goals from 53 yards this season to tie the school record for the longest field goal. He has six of the 10 longest field goals in Wake Forest history.
Just a sophomore, Swank already ranks first in the Wake Forest record book in two categories. He has made 77 percent of his career field goal attempts (37-of-48) and 61 straight extra points. Swank ranks second in Deacon history with 37 field goals, nine behind Matthew Burdick. He ranks eighth in career scoring with 172 points, just two behind Ricky Proehl for seventh place and eight points out of sixth place, behind Larry Russell, quarterback of the 1970 ACC Championship team.
Earlier this week, Swank was chosen to the Atlantic Coast Conference's first team. This season, Swank became the first player in conference history to win the ACC's Specialist of the Week award in three consecutive weeks. He earned the honor on four separate occasions this season and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award for a second straight year.
Swank, who also doubles as the team's punter, earned honorable mention All-ACC honors for his performance at that position.
Swank, a native of Jacksonville Beach, Fla., and his teammates will compete for the ACC Championship against Georgia Tech on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Jacksonville, Fla.
Swank's Career Placekicking Statistics:
PAT FG-A Pct. Lg Blk Pts 40+ 50+2005 29-29 19-24 .792 52 0 86 6-8 2-22006 32-32 18-24 .750 53 0 86 5-7 5-7Career 61-61 37-48 .771 53 0 172 11-14 7-9