I went to the Dallas A&M Club HH tonight at Lake House Bar & Rest by White Rock Lake. Had the pleasure of meeting Ryan Swope and his lovely wife, Melissa. Ryan was a featured guest speaker there, along with Robert Crouch- an original member of the 12th Man Kickoff Team.

Ryan is in the commercial real estate business and is about to relocate to Houston. He works for Rubicon Representation- headed up by former Cowboy great and Gulf War combat vet Chad Hennings. He spoke about his concussion problems (the effects of which he still suffers from), his intense desire to compete, his love for Texas A&M, his wife, and above all the Lord.

Said he fully believes Sumlin will right the ship, and that the Ags will return to their winning ways.

He visited with me after for about 15 minutes. Extremely polite and impressive guy. Humble, competitive and always upbeat and happy. Gotta be my favorite Aggie baller of the last few years. He had a new hairstyle, parted on his right and very well groomed. Ankles strong. No subway...believe he ate a NY Strip with mashed sweet potato and asparagus.

Hey tower ag90 could you tell me a little more about what he said about concussions and how they are still bothering him. I have had some problems with them as well

can he play LB?

quote:

---

He spoke about his concussion problems (the effects of which he still suffers from), his intense desire to compete, his love for Texas A&M, his wife, and above all the Lord.

Extremely polite and impressive guy. Humble, competitive and always upbeat and happy. Gotta be my favorite Aggie baller of the last few years. He had a new hairstyle, parted on his right and very well groomed.

---

Good dude. Always brings his lunch pail to work. Not necessarily the best athlete on the field, but definitely was the smartest and always "wanted it" more. He is a guy you would want to date your daughter. All about the fundamentals. Was always in the film room. Reminds me Wes Welker.

Did I forget anything?

Miller, he specifically mentioned balance issues and memory problems. Said he forgot about the speaking engagement until the day before.

quote:

---

quote:

---

---

Did I forget anything?

---

Was he a coach's son?

thank you so much tower ag for getting back to me

quote:

---

quote:

---

quote:

---

---

Did I forget anything?

---

Was he a coach's son?

---

Or a coach on the field?

I had a coulple of classes with Ryan. Sit by him in one of them, he's a really awesome guy. Really nice, and he really liked my senior boots. Lol

quote:

---

quote:

---

He spoke about his concussion problems (the effects of which he still suffers from), his intense desire to compete, his love for Texas A&M, his wife, and above all the Lord.

Extremely polite and impressive guy. Humble, competitive and always upbeat and happy. Gotta be my favorite Aggie baller of the last few years. He had a new hairstyle, parted on his right and very well groomed.

---

Good dude. Always brings his lunch pail to work. Not necessarily the best athlete on the field, but definitely was the smartest and always "wanted it" more. He is a guy you would want to date your daughter. All about the fundamentals. Was always in the film room. Reminds me Wes Welker.

Did I forget anything?

---

Agree with the points, except the athlete one. Swope was an incredible athlete, powerful, strong with incredible speed. I think his forty time at the NFL combine was one of the top 5 or better.

Thanks for a great post TowerAg. Definitely agree that Ryan is a favorite in our house, too. Also, I was in the Corps with Robert Crouch. Did he speak as well, what's he doing now? That's back when Jackie Sherrill began the restoration of Aggie pride and getting rid of BAS.

I was there as well. He started to get a little choked up about the concussions and not being able to play in the NFL. Said he basically cheated the concussion tests at A&M so he could play every week and it cost him in the long run.

Bnago, not sure if he ever mentioned that. Sorry. I visited some with him, too...but mostly discussed the 12th Man KOT. He's also a personable and friendly guy. He preceded Swope and kept his remarks brief.

Thanks Tower, no problem, just curious. Of course Ryan was the main attraction as it should've been. As a side note, back when Jackie advertised for the 12th Man Kickoff team, it reminded me of that scene in the movie Invincible with Mark Wahlberg where the city of Philadelphia is invited to tryout for the Eagles. All of a sudden, everybody thinks they have a chance to make it.

quote:

---

Said he basically cheated the concussion tests at A&M so he could play every week

---

Nah...he just "changed the conditions of the test." Cheating would be an Aggie Honor Code violation

did he have his lunch pail with him?

I'm sure he brought it. Must've had it out in his car

Gym rat

Ryan is a great kid. Not a coaches son . He grew up here in Westlake , his Dad has a courier service in Austin( very successful business). Strong work ethic , from
A very driven , goal oriented community . One of everybody's all time favorite Aggies. We almost didn't offer, we should have offered Bryce Hager out of Westlake the next year, he has turned out to be a great LB for Baylor and will play on Sunday .. He wanted to play for us but we couldn't get over the wrong color deal and we had already signed a kid out of Skyline Cory ? , who left us for Oklahoma at last minute.

Rubicon is going to slay deals with this kid on their team in H-town. Fish in a barrel.

a couple of other things I just remembered. He said coach Sherman never fails to send him a card contact him on his birthday. He was very complimentary of Sherman, the man. Also I asked him what made him get his start in real estate? He said his Pop Warner coach & Sunday School teacher from back home recruited him into the company.

I also asked him the $50 million question --what is JFF 's TexAgs handle.

He is a role model in the finest sense of the expression. He will always be a great fan favorite among Aggies and others as well. Best wishes to him for continued success in life.

quote:

---

Nah...he just "changed the conditions of the test." Cheating would be an Aggie Honor Code violation

---

Should have used my notes on all my tests in college. Then just told my profs that I had changed the conditions of the test.

Swope is a badass

Ryan is a tough S.O.B.

I think about some of the hits he took, & still hung on to the ball. Esp. the Alabama game. Game of his life.
Will always remember him as one of the greatest.

quote:

---

I was there as well. He started to get a little choked up about the concussions and not being able to play in the NFL. Said he basically cheated the concussion tests at A&M so he could play every week and it cost him in the long run.

---

That's pretty sad actually. Wish him well in life and hope it doesn't get too bad.

You took notes?

We need a montage of his best war cry's.

Ryan Swope. Definitely one of the all time favorites in this household as well. Dude was a beast on the field.

Wish i could have met him in person.

Solid post, op.

Was he wearing cowboy boots? Oh, Texas...

edit: I do LOVE his play at A&M though.