Ryner Swanson may be a Cougar, but he'll soon be a missionary.
The BYU freshman tight end has elected to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the 2024 college football season.
Swanson has been called to serve in the Kenya Nairobi Mission, he announced Tuesday evening on social media.
"I opened (my call) by myself on some random park bench, I just wanted to have that special moment to myself," Swanson said in a video posted to Instagram. "I'm super excited to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the African people and serve the Lord. Hurrah for Israel!"
According to Swanson, he will be speaking English and "a little bit of Swahili." He will leave for his two-year service in early 2025 but did not specify exactly when.
Swanson, a four-star tight end prospect from southern California, signed with the Cougars as part of their 2023 recruiting class, enrolling early at BYU to join the program for spring ball earlier this year. He had been ranked as the No. 18 overall tight end recruit in the country upon committing to Kalani Sitake's crew.
According to BYU's sports information department , 55 current Cougar players and six coaches have served full-time missions. Additionally, 24 players who have either signed with or committed to BYU are currently serving as well.
Safety Crew Wakley defends a pass to Ryner Swanson as BYU holds their first fall football practice in Provo on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
