The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced today that senior linebacker Abe Swanson is the 2022-23 Pat Riepma Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.  Swanson, who hails from St. Charles, Ill., has been a stellar student-athlete and a model of consistency at Grand Valley State, both on and off the field. Swanson, the 2022 GLIAC Defensive Back of the Year and a 2022 consensus All-American as selected by every major news outlet, was a key figure in the Lakers' accent to the No. 1 ranking in every football poll during the 2022 campaign. Swanson led GVSU to a 22-21 victory over Ferris State, snapping the Bulldogs 43-game regular season and 32-game GLIAC winning streak.  
 
Last fall Swanson guided Grand Valley State to a 12-1 mark, including the GLIAC Championship and the top seed in the NCAA DII Football playoffs. He tallied 95 tackles (35 solo/60 assisted), 9.5 tackles for loss (-33), 4.0 quarterback sacks (-17), picked off one pass, recovered a fumble, forced a fumble, and recorded nine QB hurries. He was the leader of a defense that led the nation in points allowed per game (10.3) and ranked among the national leaders and led the GLIAC in rushing defense (64.9 ypg.), first downs allowed (154), redzone defense (.667) and total defense (264.1). GVSU limited opponents to just 13.5 first downs per game, including five that were held under 10 first downs in a game. Swanson was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week twice during the season, once after recording seven tackles, 1.5 TFL (-6) and recovering a fumble at Ferris State, and a second time after his 12-tackle, 1.0 TFL (-5) and one interception performance versus Saginaw Valley State. Abe has been named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week five times in his career. Swanson has registered 221 career tackles (75 solo/146 assisted), 20 tackles for loss (-87) and 8.0 QB sacks (-41) for a Laker squad that is 40-8 during his career. 
 
Swanson has been just as active off the field during his career at Grand Valley State. He boasts a 3.56 cumulative GPA in Comprehensive Science and Arts for Teaching and is working on a Graduate Degree in Educational Leadership. He has been active in the GVSU SAAC, youth camps in Grand Rapids and Giant Steps, a football camp for children with autism. He has also been active at Jenison High School as an intern in the athletics department.