NFL coach says Cowboys WR Ryan Switzer ‘obnoxious, hard to be around

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Switzer believes he was the best return man in the 2017 NFL Draft, although it’s exactly that kind of attitude that may have caused the North Carolina product to fall to the fourth round.

At least, that’s how one anonymous NFL special teams coach feels about Switzer, according to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. McGinn pressed scouts and coaches from around the league for their opinions on 2017 draft prospects. While talent evaluators described Switzer as “dynamic” and “a special player,” another pointed to a potential personality defect or character flaw that might bother some teams.

“He had really good stats earlier, wasn’t great this year,” the anonymous coach said. “I wouldn’t want the kid because he’s so cocky. Just obnoxious. Hard to be around. Even his own teammates didn’t like him. Who needs all those headaches with a guy like that? It’s not like he’s [legendary NFL wide receiver] Randy Moss.”

Listed at 5-foot-8 and 181 pounds and timed at 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash, Switzer recorded 244 receptions for 2,907 yards and returned 7 punts for touchdowns — all Tar Heels records. He has the potential to become a great return man and slot receiver in the NFL.

The question is whether Cowboys coaches will be able to put up with him. Obviously, Dallas chose Switzer, so the staff must have felt comfortable enough after limited meetings with the 22-year-old to bring him aboard.

But how will everybody feel about Switzer as months and years go by, including his teammates in the locker room?

Of course, this is only one coach’s opinion, and who knows how he arrived at the conclusion that Switzer is brash and annoying. It’s possible this person had some preconceived notions about the young man going into their meeting — that tattoo inside his bottom lip might rub people the wrong way — and nothing Switzer could say or do was going to change that.

Regardless, that line of thinking about Switzer is out there, and if he starts having trouble forging alliances with people in the Cowboys organization, remember this scouting report.

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Pfft. A writer from Wisconsin writing about a player from a school in NC and drafted by a team from Texas over some inconspicuous tattoo inside his mouth when some players are inked dang near from head to toe?

Must be the offseason.

DLK150 said:

Pfft. A writer from Wisconsin writing about a player from a school in NC and drafted by a team from Texas over some inconspicuous tattoo inside his mouth when some players are inked dang near from head to toe?

Must be the offseason.

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It is supposedly a comment from a coach. All in all, that guys opinion. We know ours is excited about him.

And BTW, I bet you could describe a certain shrimp white WR telling someone to eat a dick on Twitter is kind of cocky and obnoxious.

Must be a UNC thing...

oh, hey Schmidty. Didn't see you lurking over there.

Napoleon complex?

Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell, I guess.

But I did like that part where it said, 'caused him to fall to the 4th round...'

midswat said:

Napoleon complex?

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You ever met a sawed off runt who has an attitude?

NoDak said:

Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell, I guess.

But I did like that part where it said, 'caused him to fall to the 4th round...'

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Yeah, he was consistently held in that regard. Most all receivers that are short but shifty get that grade. But yeah, after extensive character analysis and diagnosis of his Napoleon complex, it was determined he should be pushed down to the fourth.

Actually the more I read about his insolent nature, the more I like the pick.

This is nonsense. Find me one coach who thinks a player is "dynamic" and "special" but doesn't want him because the player is cocky and obnoxious.

Doesn't pass the smell test.

boozeman said:

You ever met a sawed off runt who has an attitude?

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SMS

Ryan Switzer's act of kindness creates lifelong bond

Nov 10, 2016
Jared Shanker
ESPN Staff Writer

Lisa Ellars needed to come up with a rotation. Her little room at John Adams Middle School couldn’t accommodate her class plus the 20 football players who were visiting daily.

It was supposed to be a once-a-month movie club her sixth-grade special education class hosted. But when Ryan Switzer, the state’s sandlot football star, began showing up to see his best friend, Cliff, and help out the class, people took notice.

Clifton Reid III, left, and Ryan Switzer met in middle school and were inseparable during their time at George Washington High in Charleston, West Virginia. Courtesy Michael Switzer
“They’re a special pair, and the thing about it is, I probably would never have known Cliff if not for their relationship,” George Washington High School football coach Steve Edwards Jr. said. “A lot of people might not have known what kind of great, loving, funny man Cliff is and how he enjoyed life. Cliff ran the school the whole time he was here.”

Cliff is Clifton Reid III, affectionately known as “Pint” around Charleston, West Virginia. He and Switzer, now a 22-year-old senior receiver at North Carolina and on the cusp of tying the NCAA record for punt-return touchdowns, first met when Reid was shooting baskets alone in the middle school gym. Switzer reached out to Reid, who has Down syndrome and is on the autism spectrum. Not long after, Switzer was signing up for Ellars’ club and coming every day.

It inspired a movement among his teammates. So many wanted to join Switzer daily that Ellars had to create a schedule. It carried over to high school, where Reid, once closed off and introverted, became a beloved member of the football team and student body.

“He’s blossomed, and I owe a lot of it to Ryan,” Reid’s father, Clifton Reid II, said. “It’s something I couldn’t do. He’s helped my child develop. These are things normal teenagers don’t do, and it comes from his heart.”

Michael Switzer couldn’t find his son after North Carolina’s victory at Virginia on Oct. 22. Ryan Switzer, second in the ACC in receptions and a punt-return touchdown short of tying the NCAA career mark of seven, had left the field. He wanted Reid, who was in the stands to watch Switzer for the first time this season, to come celebrate in the Tar Heels’ locker room.

Michael led Reid down to the sideline, and he and Ryan walked off the field together, just as they did after every high school game. Before games, Reid ran alongside Switzer out of the tunnel. After games, they’d walk back in, Switzer’s helmet sitting loosely on Reid’s head and an old Switzer jersey draped over his shoulders.

In between, Reid served as the team manager. He incited the crowd from the sidelines, climbing into the stands to run the bleachers if he sensed spirit dimming. He sat in on meetings, often dancing or lip-syncing during tense halftime adjustments.

As Switzer grew into one of the best athletes to come out of West Virginia, Reid was alongside him as a member of the team. Switzer introduced Charleston to his friend, and the city gravitated toward Reid, known as “Pint” because of his small size.

“All because one jock took the time and made an effort, everyone, from junior high to high school, accepted Cliff and the other kids [in his class],” said Ellars, who was Reid’s aide, too.

"He's blossomed, and I owe a lot of it to Ryan," Clifton Reid III's father said of his son's friendship with Switzer. "It's something I couldn't do. He's helped my child develop. These are things normal teenagers don't do, and it comes from his heart." Courtesy Michael Switzer

Switzer said he doesn’t remember seeing someone with Down syndrome or on the autism spectrum before sixth grade, when he saw Reid eating lunch. Later that week, he encountered Reid alone in the gym, shooting baskets.

“Something just clicked,” Switzer said.

Students at John Adams were required to sign up for a club, so Switzer joined the one Reid’s class hosted, which was a movie once a month. Not once did Ellars ever need to turn the TV on, however. Switzer came to help, working with Reid on his reading and math. Reid would copy Switzer’s writing on the blackboard.

The rest of the football team followed Switzer’s lead, and over the course of the school year the club grew to 20 students volunteering.

“It’s because Ryan is who he is,” said Luke Eddy, who is Switzer's friend. “I don’t believe it’d have the same impact if it was someone else.”

Reid joined Switzer’s lunch table, and if a careful eye wasn’t kept, he’d hack into an unattended phone and start blasting rap music. Switzer and Reid would often go to the mall or grab lunch. Sometimes they sparred over girls.

In eighth grade, Switzer solicited donations from the entire class to buy Christmas presents for Reid’s class, which included several other students with whom Switzer and his friends had grown close.

“Ryan Switzer,” Reid said, “that’s my boy.”

Before Switzer and Reid struck up their friendship, Reid was withdrawn. His father said his son felt different and wasn’t comfortable in the school system. He didn’t talk much. If a teacher wasn’t looking, he’d bolt from the classroom. Once Switzer and Reid began hanging out, Reid's father noticed his son's speech and communication improve.

“He enjoys life and everything now versus this little shell he was in, and I credit that to Ryan,” Clifton II said. “He’s coming home and smiling. He was happy and looking forward to school. He used to lie around and not want to be bothered.”

Over their high school years, the boys’ bond became a brotherhood. Reid joined Switzer on his official visit to North Carolina; at one point, Reid wandered off and Switzer found him wearing future first-round pick Eric Ebron's pads. Later that season, Reid was on the field with Switzer’s family for senior night. A few months after that, Switzer was adamant that Reid walk with the 2013 graduating class. Reid was allowed to attend high school until he was 21, but Switzer thought he should attend graduation with his friends.

Reid walked, receiving a standing ovation. Ellars remembers seeing tears welling on faces.

“People look at it skeptically, but Ryan is not that type of kid," Edwards said. “Sometimes guys with his talent and ability get a raw deal because people think they’re all about themselves. He’s a very loving and true young man. He’s always helping with everyone.”

Reid’s father isn’t the type to fall speechless, but when it comes to Switzer and his son, he just can’t find the right words. No one understands his son better than Switzer, he said, but what confounds him most is that Switzer could have easily lost touch with Reid now that he’s 300 miles away.

Yet Switzer will routinely call Reid, and the two will talk for hours. When Switzer comes home on breaks, he’ll bring North Carolina clothes for Reid to match the size 4 Jordan sneakers he raised enough money to buy him for Christmas in eighth grade. The clothes quickly tatter because Reid never wants to take them off.

“They got to my heart,” Reid II said. “Except for his brothers and sister, no one cares and looks out for Pint like Ryan.”

Reid’s father said no one understands his son quite like Switzer, and yet it’s Switzer who routinely thanks Reid's father for allowing him to maintain his bond with Reid.

“He’s done more for me than I could ever do for him,” Switzer said. “He’s been my best friend for 11 years. He doesn’t care what I do on the football field. He loves me for who I am.”

This Ryan Switzer really sounds like a monster.

My benchmark for small white receivers has always been Howard Twilley. That's why I felt Beasley would succeed in the NFL. He had a lot of those traits. What little I have seen of the Switzer videos he has abilities that exceed Twilley and Beasley so that part is good. Whether he has compatibility issues with team members and coaches remains to be seen.

From watching all his highlight videos it actually looks like his teammates like him a lot. I'm calling bullshit.

Hey that thing for the kid was all for show. Totally fake and stuff. What a dirtbag.

Iamtdg said:

From watching all his highlight videos it actually looks like his teammates like him a lot. I'm calling bullshit.

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It seems contrived crap. So he turned off some coach, BMFD. I don't mind swagger at all.

boozeman said:

It seems contrived crap. So he turned off some coach, BMFD. I don't mind swagger at all.

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Who gives a shit anyway. He is a WR and returner. It's not like you're looking for the guy to be a team leader. My guess is one special teams coach didn't like him. I doubt some 70 year old special teams coach's opinion on his personality really translates to how 20-30 year olds feel about him.

Iamtdg said:

From watching all his highlight videos it actually looks like his teammates like him a lot. I'm calling bullshit.

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Thanks for the formatting.

And Ayuh, seems like bullshit.