Aug. 13, 2012
THE FLATS – Ken Swilling, a 1990 consensus All-America selection, was selected to represent Georgia Tech in the Class of 2012 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game Legends.
Joining the former Tech standout in the class of 2012 legends are former Boston College guard Bob Hyland, Clemson tight end Bennie Cunningham, Duke guard Mike McGee, Florida State linebacker Sam Cowart, Maryland running back Chet Hanulak, Miami defensive end Ted Hendricks, North Carolina cornerback Dre’ Bly, NC State wide receiver Tory Holt, Virginia running back Frank Quayle, Virginia Tech defensive back Pierson Prioleau and Wake Forest linebacker Ed Stetz.
Swilling was a key member of the Yellow Jackets football program from 1988 to 1991 and was a four-year letterwinner for head coach Bobby Ross. During his four years on the Flats, he intercepted 13 passes, tied for fifth-most all-time by a Jacket, which he returned for 239 yards. Swilling returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns and as a sophomore in 1989, he became the first ACC player to return an intercepted conversion attempt, a 99-yard return against Duke, for a two-point defensive conversion.
The Toccoa, Ga., native earned first-team All-ACC honors in 1989 and 1990 at free safety. Swilling was selected a third-team All-America as a sophomore in 1989 and became a consensus All-America pick in 1990. He finished his career with 267 tackles, the second-highest total by a defensive back in Tech history.
Swilling helped the Yellow Jackets to a 16-game non-losing streak and a stretch across the 1989 and 1990 seasons in which Georgia Tech won 18 of 20 games.
He was selected in the seventh round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns, where he played one season. In 2003, Swilling was selected to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary team and he was inducted into the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
The Legends will be honored at this year’s Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game weekend. They will be honored at the ACC Night of Legends, sponsored by the Belk Bowl, on Friday, Nov. 30, and on Dec. 1, during ceremonies at Bank of America Stadium for the 8th Annual Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship, which will be nationally televised with either a 7:45 pm (ESPN) or 8 p.m. (ABC) kickoff.
The group of 12 former gridiron standouts from current ACC schools includes three former ACC Football Players of the Year, six consensus first-team All-Americas, seven first-team All-Americas, and 10 players who combined for 84 years in the National Football League. Eleven of the Legends were drafted into the NFL, including eight first- or second-round draft choices.
Six of the 12 honorees were members of the ACC’s 50th Anniversary team which selected the league’s Top 50 players of its first 50 years, in 2003.
–RamblinWreck.com–
