Nathan Swift Reaffirms Commitment

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Preps notebook: Swift still happy with decision

Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune

 

Published January 25, 2004 RNOT25

 

Hutchinson senior Nathan Swift said he knows very little about Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, other than he led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl last year.

 

But the turmoil that engulfed the Nebraska program this season and ultimately led to Callahan's surprise hiring did nothing to cause Swift to rethink his verbal commitment to the Cornhuskers. If anything, he feels even better about his decision.

 

"It's awesome," he said. "It's going to be fun."

 

Swift, the Metro Player of the Year, took his official visit to Nebraska this weekend to meet Callahan and the rest of the coaching staff. Callahan was hired earlier this month after a bizarre search conducted under a cloak of secrecy by athletic director Steve Pederson, who fired Frank Solich after a 9-3 regular season.

 

Several coaches reportedly turned down the job before Callahan agreed to a six-year contract worth $1.5 million annually.

 

Swift, who will move from running back to wide receiver, watched the search unfold to see what type of coach would be hired. He said he would have considered breaking his commitment if the school hired a coach who wanted to rekindle the program's glory days of running the ball exclusively.

 

Instead, Callahan will bring the pass-happy West Coast offense, a system Swift described as a "dream."

 

"Actually, I think I'm better off right now," Swift said.

 

Swift will get a crash course on the offense during a two-week visit this summer.

 

"It's good because everybody is on the same page trying to learn it," he said. "We're all starting from scratch."

 

 

Startribune.com: Despite change, Swift sold on Nebraska