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D’Andre Swift was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to his parents Darren and Ayanna Swift. Born on January 14, 1999, the Philadelphia Eagles running back grew up with his two sisters. His maternal grandfather Henry Holloway, who died when Swift was young, had a big impact on his life and football career.
Here’s what you need to know about D’Andre Swift’s family:
1. D’Andre Swift Was Very Close With His Grandfather & His Mother Said the Two Were Best Friends
Swift was really close with his maternal grandfather Henry Holloway when he was a child. His family would often get together on Sundays at Holloway’s home as it was close to Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, which the family attended for weekly worship, The Ringer reported.
After church, Swift would sit on his grandfather’s lap in front of the TV and they’d watch football together. One day, he told his grandfather, “Pop-Pop, I’ma play on the box… I’ma play on the box on Sundays!” he said, pointing to the TV, Swift’s parents recounted to the publication.
The NFL star’s mother Ayanna Swift explained that since she was an only child, her father treated Swift like his own son. “[D’Andre] was like the son he never had, cause I’m the only child,” she shared. They would watch football and playfully wrestle around the house. “I believe that the relationship that he built with my dad, it gives him that much more of that fight of what he already has in him as just a person,” she added. “That’s what makes D’Andre who he is.”
It wasn’t just Swift who loved his grandfather, as the NFL star’s father, Darren Swift, also looked up to him. “Henry Holloway was a great great man,” Darren Swift told Dawg Nation. “I couldn’t have asked for a better father-in-law and a better mother-in-law. Period. His grandparents reflect everything that should be the good things and the great things you find in all people.”
Holloway died when Swift was six years old and before he’d embarked on the football career that would see him get drafted in 2020 by the Detroit Lions with the 35th overall pick in the second round. “He passed when D’Andre was six,” Darren Swift shared with the publication. “So he never saw him play. But they did everything together. D’Andre would still watch every Eagles game with him. He’d sit in his grandfather’s lap. Their whole conversation would be about that game. They were inseparable.”
Swift himself recalled his grandfather’s home being filled with “love and care” and knowing that his grandfather always put him first.
2. D’Andre Swift’s Father, Darren Swift, Played Football As Well & Said He Was Worried About His Son Wanting to Play Running Back
Swift grew up with a love of football, but Darren Swift admitted that he was worried at first about his son’s love for the game. Darren Swift had played himself and he knew that the sport came with a high risk of injuries. “I was like, ‘Dude, no, no, you’re little,’” Darren Swift told the Ringer of his back-and-forth with his son. “Any excuse I could have given him not to play [running back]. That’s what I did.”
Swift’s father eventually helped coach his son as he began playing for the church football team. He recalled when his son first played running back, he got a touchdown. “We gave Dre the ball on that play and he hit that sideline and then cut across the field against the grain, against everybody,” Darren Swift recalled to the publication. He said both he and Ayanna began running after their son down the sideline.
“And I’m forgetting that I’m a coach, but I’m so happy because my son is, you know what I mean, running down [the field],” he shared. “I got my whistles around my neck and I’m running down the sideline. She’s running down the sideline. Her friend is running down the sideline.”
Swift attended St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, which was his parents’ choice and not the school he wanted to attend. “It was more of a parent decision because they thought it was best for me,” he told the Ringer but added that it ended up being the best move in his career. Ayanna Swift explained that they wanted to choose a “rigorous and demanding school” so that their son would have to face and overcome adversity, she told Dawg Nation.
3. D’Andre Swift’s Father Darren Swift Is the Owner of a Gym in Philadelphia & His Mother Ayanna Swift Spoke About Their Father-Son Bond
Swift’s father Darren Swift is the owner of Swift Fit, a North Philadelphia-area gym. In his Instagram bio, he describes himself as a “body transformation expert.”
He spoke about being Swift’s father and the pride he feels in his son. “Being a dad is one of the best things I could ask for in this life,” he shared, according to ASCJ Capstone. “You not only get to love and nurture this child that is 50% you, but you also get to watch them take that love and knowledge that you instilled upon them and apply it to their life.”
Darren Swift said that being present for his son’s upbringing was “one of the greatest joys.” He added, “Not every young man has this type of support from a father figure in their lives, so I want to make sure I give back to the community that helped me to raise my son.” Ayanna Swift told the publication that her husband was “the one that had the pompoms in his hand” and was one of Swift’s number-one fans.
She added that she loved watching her husband and son’s relationship over the years, which she said only strengthened as Swift got older. “I’ve seen Dre invest in his father as well as his father invested in him,” she explained. “And that’s big because it just is a testament to not only like, wow, what Darren has been depositing means something. But you can also begin to see some things manifest and unfold in front of you where he [D’Andre] can deposit into his father.”
Ayanna Swift has spoken about her husband and father to her three children, describing him as having “the heart of a teddy bear” in an interview with Dawg Nation. She said her husband is in tears at the end of each football season when he looks back at the children’s progress.
4. Darren & Ayanna Swift Were Protective of D’Andre Swift During the Recruitment Process
Darren and Ayanna Swift were very involved in their son’s football career and made it clear when it came to college recruitment that schools would have to go through them. They told Dawg Nation that any coach who contacted their son directly wouldn’t be considered.
However, it wasn’t easy to let him go to the University of Georgia, she told the Ringer, and she cried over their phone calls. “Being a parent is really a thankless, relentless job, and when you see the manifestation of what you deposited unfold in front of your eyes, it melts your heart,” she told ASCJ Capstone.
Swift’s father agreed with that and said it felt “surreal” to see everything his son had achieved so far and to see the reward for his hard work. Darren Swift said he believes that the death of Swift’s grandfather continues to be his son’s “why.”
“Everything he does is to honor his grandfather and that great great man’s name,” he told Dawg Nation. He explained that his son even wears a chain around his neck that used to belong to his grandfather and it represents the connection Swift still feels with his grandfather.
Faith is also a strong foundation of the Swift family and that was ingrained in the Eagles star thanks to his mother, who described faith as “the backbone of our family.” She revealed that she did devotions with Swift when he was younger to focus on his foundation. “I needed him to know that God is always with him,” she revealed to the publication. “That’s his foundation.”
5. D’Andre Swift Grew Up With 2 Sisters, Dominique & Angelique
Darren and Ayanna Swift had three children together: Swift, and two daughters, Dominique and Angelique. Swift also has older brothers on his father’s side of the family.
Swift’s high school coach Gabe Infante has shared that he was touched to witness Swift’s protectiveness over his sisters.
He recalled one instance when Swift invited his mother and sisters to a team lunch in an interview with Dawg Nation. “The number one thing was how protective he was of his beautiful sister who is a sophomore now in high school,” he shared. “His care and love and support for his little sister is something rare. You just don’t see that in a guy with his competitive nature and his ability.”
Swift’s sister Dominique graduated from college in 2023, as her father shared on Instagram. She also posted about her graduation from the University of Pittsburgh, writing in her caption that she graduated Summa cum laude. She is a talented artist showcasing some of her work on her Instagram page Domino Effect Artistry. Swift’s youngest sister Angelique turned 17 in March 2023, according to Darren Swift’s Instagram.
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