Jacob Swain has known about Brennan Marion longer than many Colorado football fans have.
The Buffs‘ offensive coordinator has a rolodex of recruiting connections and they just helped land him another dynamic receiver.
Before Swain was giving defensive backs nightmares with his route running and elusiveness, he played quarterback as a freshman in high school. That’s when Brennan Marion — who was the OC at UNLV at the time — first offered Swain.
“Coach Marion, we go back,” Jacon Swain told DNVR. “I think he recruited me when I was a quarterback as a freshman in high school at UNLV and then when he got to Sacramento State last year, I got an offer from them in October.
“From our first interaction when I was younger as a QB when he was at UNLV, I feel like it’s a full circle. I feel like I was destined to play for him at some point.”
Within two months of Marion becoming Colorado’s OC, he offered Jacob Swain (on Jan. 28) again and had him on campus for an official visit last weekend. It didn’t take long for the all-state wide receiver from Melissa, Texas to commit to the Buffs.
Not only was it a full-circle moment because of his relationship with Marion, but also because it will be a return to his roots.
“This is honestly a dream come true,” Jacon Swain told DNVR. “I’ve been a Buffs fan since I was a little kid. My mom’s from Colorado, so it’s been a big thing and it’s great to finally be committed.
“Honestly, it felt like home as soon as I got there. All the coaches are genuine. My meetings with Coach Marion and Coach Shad, everybody. It was amazing and I feel like there’s no better place for me to be.”
Jacob Swain is a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder who makes plays on all three levels of the field. His highlight tape is littered with crisp route running and game-breaking speed.
During Swain’s senior season at Melissa High School, he racked up 53 catches for 1,184 yards and 17 TDs on 22.3 yards per reception.
“I like to compete,” Jacob Swain told DNVR. “I do whatever it takes. I’ll throw my body out there for a ball. I’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done. I’ll line up inside, outside and just be ready to go.”
Brennan Marion’s Go-Go offense is a two-back, power-run scheme that majors in running the football. In some football circles, it has a reputation of not being very receiver-friendly.
Sac State’s QB threw just 175 passes for 1,621 yards last season in Marion’s Go-Go offense, but Ernest Campbell (now a Buff) earned FCS Freshman All-American honors and led the team in all receiving categories.
It’s proof that Marion — a former WR at Tulsa (2007-08) — knows exactly how to maximize the talents of his receivers.
“I feel like there’s no better place for me to be as a receiver,” Jacob Swain told DNVR. “The playbook is wide open and I feel like it’s hard not to be successful in that offense. There’s so many different concepts and there’s so many different routes.
“Get open routes, option routes, and honestly, it’s really hard to stop an option route because whatever you run, you have to just make the quarterback right and he puts the ball out there. You have to just make a play.”
If playing for Marion isn’t exciting enough, playing alongside Julian Lewis should do the trick. The redshirt freshman started two games late last season and showed flashes of the five-star QB he committed to Colorado as.
Lewis — who reclassified — is the same age as Jacob Swain and should be joining him in the Buffs’ 2026 recruiting staff. Instead, Lewis now has nearly 200 snaps of college football experience he can share with Swain and the rest of the incoming freshmen.
“Man, I’m excited,” Jacob Swain told DNVR. “I think it’s incredible how he’s supposed to be a senior in high school right now and he’s going into his second year in college. He has the knowledge already and I can’t wait to work with him.”
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