BEAUMONT — Trenton Swinton quietly worked his way onto the football field at Lamar during the 2015 season, but didn’t record any statistics.

No matter to the wide receiver, because he was back home. The previous season, he attended a prep school for the Naval Academy.

“I wasn’t comfortable with the Navy way of life,” said Swinton, who finished high school at Port Arthur Memorial. “I didn’t think that would fit me as far as career-wise after graduating from the academy. I always knew I could come back and play here, being familiar with the people and the area around here. I just knew I could continue my education and my career.”

Swinton’s back home, along with fellow Memorial graduates Marcus Abbott and recent Texas Tech transfer Jalen Barnes. And, although they didn’t share time together as Titans, it means a great deal to them.

“Every time we see each other, we say something about Port Arthur,” Abbott said. “We’re proud where we’re from. … Not too many people say they got to play football in Port Arthur, Texas. That’s saying something special. I don’t think everyone exactly knows what that means.”

Swinton is competing for a key role with the Cardinals, who had four senior receivers last season including All-Southland Conference performer Reggie Begelton. In his only season at Memorial (2013), he caught 33 passes for 585 yards.

That followed a three-year run at Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock, Arkansas, where as a junior in 2012 he nearly totaled 1,000 yards as a running back and caught for 280 yards and three touchdowns.

Barnes, a 2013 Memorial alumnus who just missed playing with Swinton in high school, likes what the receiver brings to the table in Beaumont.

“Every day in practice, he’s running routes and running at full speed,” he said. “The ball hit his hands, he’s catching it. He’s not worried about dropping it. He pretty much just comes to work every day.”

Swinton helped out Brett Cox’s cause in the middle of a quarterback race with a catch of his 41-yard toss to set up a scoring pass to Kaleb Sparks in a scrimmage during Thursday’s practice. Cox, also a soon-to-be sophomore, completed 3 of 4 passes for 71 yards.

Barnes didn’t get to tackle Swinton in the scrimmage, but the Texas Tech transfer said he is getting more settled in the Cardinals’ new defense.

That unit also has been missing a permanent defensive line coach for nearly three weeks following the sudden departure of John Blake to the Buffalo Bills. But Abbott, 27, an Army veteran and Purple Heart medalist, said the line is moving right along under graduate assistant Mark Merrell.

“I don’t think the teaching has dropped off at all,” Abbott said. “He’s a great coach, and I think he’ll be a great coach on the next level, too. It’s not anything I’m worried about.”