Stuart Schweigert

Stuart Schweigert was a three-sport standout at Heritage High School, where he graduated in 2000. In track he helped the Hawks to a state runner-up finish at the Class A state meet as he won the state title in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.60, the fastest recorded Accutrack time in the history of the Michigan High School Athletic Association track finals. As a senior Schweigert was the Saginaw Valley League MVP and he anchored the state champion 1,600-meter relay team and finished third in the 100 and 200-meters. He holds school records in the 100 (10.32) and 200 meters (21.1) as well as being a member of two school-record relay teams. In football, he rushed for 1,650 yards and 26 touchdowns as an option quarterback his senior year, while passing for 500 yards and four TD’s. Additionally, he recorded 50 tackles with three interceptions and seven pass breakups on defense. Schweigert, who led Heritage to its first-ever SVL championship and playoff win, was a first team All-Saginaw Valley League performer three times. He was selected first team all-state as both a quarterback and defensive back and made the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press Dream Team. Schweigert was named a 5-star recruit by Tom Lemming and the sixth-best player in the Midwest. He was also ranked as the No. 9 defensive back and No. 78 player overall in the nation by Prep Football Report, and was ranked as the No. 18 best skill athlete by SuperPrep and a 4-star recruit. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound speedster, who was named the Detroit Athletic Club’s Male Athlete of the Year in 2000, earned a full-ride scholarship to Purdue University where he started his entire career at free safety. Schweigert was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year when the Boilermakers won the Big Ten championship. He played in four Bowl games at Purdue; the 2001 Rose Bowl, the 2001 and 2002 Sun Bowls and the 2003 Capital One Bowl. Schweigert is Purdue’s all-time leading interception leader with 17, besting the previous market of 11 set by Rod Woodson. That mark ranks him sixth all-time in Big Ten history. He was voted 1st Team All-Big Ten twice and 2nd Team All-Big Ten twice. Entering his senior season (2003), he was tabbed as a Playboy All-American. Schweigert, a Boilermaker co-captain, was also selected to the All-Big Ten Academic Team four times. He finished ninth all-time in total career tackles with 360 and 11th in solo career tackles with 226. Three times he was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the nation’s outstanding defensive back. Schweigert, who played in the 2004 Senior Bowl, was drafted in the 3rd round – 66th overall – of the 2004 National Football League draft by the Oakland Raiders. Schweigert started 53 games in the National Football League, where he recorded 386 tackles, 4 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries. He was on the NFL’s No. 1-rated secondary and No. 3-rated overall defense in 2006. He played with Oakland, Washington, New York, Detroit in the NFL and Omaha in the United Football League. In 2011 he was the UFL’s Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in tackles and second in interceptions. Schweigert, team captain both seasons he played in Omaha, also led the league in tackles in 2012.