Monday, September 26, 2011

Former Cal QB Beau Sweeney transferred to Cornell

(photo courtesy of "Monica's Dad's," Flickr)

During spring camp, Beau Sweeney decided to transfer after losing out to Zach Maynard, Brock Mansion and Allan Bridgford in the competition for the quarterback role at Cal. Sweeney held the second QB slot above Mansion for some time in 2009 and 2010, and many fans once clamored for his appearance after Mansion struggled in place of injured senior Kevin Riley in 2010.

After deciding to transfer, Sweeney said he would aim for an FCS school to avoid FBS rules that would have forced him to sit out a season. A few bloggers criticized what they assumed would be a shift to a second-rate academic school just for the chance to play a few games. However, it turns out Sweeney was able to make the move and even end up at a school some consider better than Berkeley. He joined FCS Ivy League competitor Cornell.

At Cornell, Sweeney is assured of at least some playing time, although the team has seven QBs and is led by starter Jeff Matthews, who won the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award last season. Matthews said of his new teammate that “[h]e doesn’t throw all that well, but he’s a very good athlete and he’ll be on the field all year.”

In Cornell's opener last week against Bucknell, Sweeney didn't throw a pass, but he ran the ball twice for 11 yards total. In this week's loss to Yale, Sweeney had one carry for 3 yards. 

Monday, March 14, 2011

Alex Swieca: Israel's Aaron Rodgers

The fourth edition of the Israel Bowl is just 5 days away. The Judean Rebels will face off against the defending champion Tel Aviv/Jaffa Sabres. Alex Swieca, an 18 year-old quarterback from New York, is at the helm of the Rebels and a major reason they've made it thus far.



He's put up tremendous stats in Israel's only tackle football league, bulldozing competition that includes former NCAA Division I players and former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi's brother, among others.

In the division championship game he led the Rebels on an unbelievable comeback from an 18-point deficit and scored the game-winning touchdown on the ground against the only team the Rebels failed to defeat in the regular season. He racked up 5 touchdowns with no interceptions, 248 passing yards, and 52 rushing yards overall. The win propelled the Rebels to their first Israel Bowl in history. It also broke the Israel Football League's attendance record with close to 1000 fans cramming into Jerusalem's Kraft Stadium.

Swieca aspires to play college football for the University of Michigan.