Education | National | Sports

Native Sun News: Oglala Sioux athletes make the jump to college

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

The following story was written and reported by Brandon Ecoffey, Native Sun News Managing Editor. All content © Native Sun News.

Eriq Swiftwater

Trueblood and Swiftwater make jump to college
By Brandon Ecoffey
Native Sun News Managing Editor

RAPID CITY— At the beginning of every new school year athletes who were big time stars in high school leave their prep accolades behind and make the jump to the college scene. This year two athletes from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, each possessing unlimited potential, are experiencing the highs and lows of being “redshirted.”

Watching from the sidelines this year via coaches’ decision will be two Pine Ridge Indian Reservation athletes. Oglala resident and former all-state Hot Springs Bison wide receiver Eriq Swiftwater, a 2013 Oelrichs High graduate, and last year's state A heavyweight wrestling champion and all state defensive lineman Jesse Trueblood, a graduate of Pine Ridge High School.

College athletic programs across the country have the ability to suspend an athlete’s ability to participate in games in order to add an additional year of eligibility on to the back end of an athlete’s career. Swiftwater and Trueblood will both be redshirted this season allowing for them to play a fifth year of college football. The downside however is neither will see any live game action this season. Nonetheless both are looking to make a smooth transition to being a full time collegiate student-athlete.

“It's a real learning process I think being a redshirt, but it has a huge benefit to it. Having to lift all week, go to practice against the starters is a lot but we (other redshirts) know that we are helping them improve their game by giving them good looks,” said Swiftwater from his dorm room on the campus of Black Hills State University. “On a personal level I want to improve my speed & agility along with my awareness on the field. I feel like once I can get those two things down I'll be a lot more deadly. But first things first I want to be very consistent and very on point in the classroom. Keep my GPA above a 3.5 is my main goal and I plan on keeping it that way.”

After high school Swiftwater chose to continue his education at Black Hills State University in Spearfish where he will eventually see playing time at wide receiver for the Yellow Jackets.

Jesse Trueblood and coach Dave Michaud celebrate moments after securing the South Dakota State A heavyweight title. COURTESY/Hotshots Photography LLC

Jesse Trueblood on the other hand, signed a letter of intent to play for the Chadron State Eagles at the conclusion of a heavy recruiting battle for his services fought by a majority of colleges in the area and a number of Division I schools in neighboring states. Both Black Hills State and Chadron State compete as Division I-AA programs respectively and have a solid track record of maximizing its athletes’ talent.

Both athletes are expected to develop in to solid contributors at the college level and have received positive praise from their coaches.

“I think the biggest thing with Jesse is his size and athleticism… Very few people are built like him,” said head coach of the Chadron State Eagles, Jay Long. “I would say that the best thing about him is he is such a great raw athlete.”

In high school Trueblood was a two way player in high school but Chadron State hopes to develop “Brock” in to an every down offensive tackle where his unique blend of size, speed, and athleticism could best be utilized. Coach Long said that it will be important for Trueblood to focus on a number of things including “getting stronger”, “learning schemes”, and “improving in the classroom.”

Swiftwater was also praised by Black Hills State head coach John Reiners on the program’s website.

“Eriq is an extremely talented young man that is just going to continue to get better and better. What I love the most about him is his athleticism and his demeanor both on and off the field. Eriq comes from a very successful Hot Springs program under Coach Kramer (at Hot Springs).”

Although both athletes possess unique size and athleticism relative to the competition they will face, both Swiftwater, standing 6’3” and weighing in at 195lbs, and Trueblood, at 6’6 ½ and 265lbs of muscle, will take this season off to mature physically, intellectually, and most importantly as students.

(Contact Brandon Ecoffey at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com)