FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2015, file photo, former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Lynn Swann watches from the sideline before an NFL football game between the Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers in Pittsburgh. Swann has been named Southern California's new athletic director, the university announced Wednesday, April 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Former Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Lynn Swann was the featured guest at the Little Rock Touchdown Club's meeting Monday at the Robinson Center in Little Rock.
A native of Alcoa, Tenn., Swann played collegiately at USC and won a national championship in 1972. Swann earned All-American honors as a senior in 1973 and was 21st overall pick in the first round of the 1974 NFL Draft by the Steelers.
Early in his remarks Monday, Swann credited the work of the Steelers' scouting department at the time and spoke on how the team's 1974 class of rookies was one of greatest collections of draftees assembled in NFL history.
"Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert (second round), John Stallworth (fourth), Mike Webster (fifth) and Donnie Shell (undrafted free agent) collectively all rookies together and the only draft (class) in the history of the National Football League where five people are in the Hall of Fame," Swann said.
"That collective team that (Coach) Chuck Noll and their staff put together, and he had a great staff to be able to analyze talent and find the right talent that he needed for his team to be a championship team."
Swann played all nine of his NFL seasons with Pittsburgh, where he was a part of four Super Bowl-winning teams. He earned Most Valuable Player honors in Super Bowl X following the 1975 season -- the first wide receiver to do so -- by making 4 receptions for 161 yards and a 61-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the Steelers ahead 21-10. They went on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17.
Swann was named to three Pro Bowls and was a three-time first-team All-Pro. He also earned a spot on the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team and was recognized as the NFL Man of the Year in 1981. Swann was known as a graceful player that made aerial catches look easy, which he credits to his background in tap dance and ballet.
"I've always danced," Swann said. "Dance gives you great body control. To be on your toes all the time, to be able to perform the stretching, the flexibility and you're airborne a lot when you dance or you're making leaps."
During his conversation Monday with Little Rock Touchdown Club founder David Bazzel, Swann also discussed player safety and the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts over time, in football players.
Swann played at a time when there were few safety measures to protect players from head injuries. His longtime teammate Webster, a nine-time Pro Bowler and fellow Hall of Famer who spent the first 15 of his 17 seasons with the Steelers, died of a heart attack in 2002 at just 50 years old, and he was posthumously diagnosed with CTE.
"It's hard to say what was going on," Swann said of Webster. "Obviously there was a personality change. A little different guy. It wasn't until much later that we found out that he had CTE or that he had some mental problem, brain problem. Many of us didn't know, didn't understand what CTE was all about."
Toward the end of the program, Swann talked about his from professional football to broadcasting. He said he initially planned to continue playing for the Steelers after his final season in 1982, but he was offered more money by ABC to become a full-time broadcaster.
Swann remained with ABC until 2006. He was a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Power, an Arena Football League team from 2011-14. Swann also served as the athletic director at USC from 2016-19.
Swann graduated from USC in 1974 with a degree in public relations, and Monday he emphasized his education as a key to successfully transitioning out of football. Swann warned that the education component of the student-athlete experience has taken a back seat since players gained the ability to monetize their careers through name, image and likeness and revenue sharing.
"The NCAA, college administrators, university presidents have just kind of quietly tucked this away and not talked about it," Swann said. "Guys today in sports, gals today in sports can make a lot of money, doesn't mean they're going to keep it. Doesn't mean they are getting a skill set to understand what the business community is like and the market and what (they) will do.
"I think you're going to hear stories down the road about these guys not doing as well. I hope a lot of the universities stay with these kids to maybe give them some advice to help them kind of manipulate this new problem that they have in terms of how to handle success."
Michael Harley covers various athletics at Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He also covers the AA Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team and area high school athletics around the region. Michael makes a weekly appearances on 95.3-FM The Ticket in Jonesboro during the football season, as well as guest appearances on FOX 16 sports in Little Rock.