KINGSTON — Kingston High football player Roy Swearingen has put in the work, now it’s paying off.

Swearingen signed a letter of intent Tuesday to play football at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa, next year.

Swearingen, who played offensive and defensive lineman for the Buccaneers during his three years at Kingston, will likely play guard on the offensive line at Waldorf, which competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics conference.

At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, Swearingen is on the small side for a college lineman. That fact doesn’t bother Swearingen or those who know him.

“I feel I could compete at the college level … if I really put the work into it,” he said.

Putting forth the effort has never been a problem for Swearingen, said Kingston football coach Dan Novick.

“He’s always thirsting for more knowledge and how he can improve,” Novick said. “He gets real fired up. That’s what makes him good; he has the passion to play.”

He’s also got talent. Swearingen led the Buccaneer defense in the 2009 season with 25 skulls (flattening an opposing lineman) and was named to the second team on the Olympic/Nisqually League’s all-star squad. He was also named best lineman by his teammates.

But Swearingen’s football career started slowly.

“I started out in junior high as a bench warmer,” he said.

Swearingen worked his way into a starting spot on the Kingston offensive line as a junior. In the two years since, he’s continued to develop as a player.

“There’s probably not a kid that I’ve coached that’s shown as much progress,” Novick said.

The football scholarship will pay for $6,000 of Swearingen’s tuition each year at Waldorf. Swearingen also has a 3.25 grade point average at Kingston High, which allowed him to earn a partial academic scholarship to Waldorf. Other schools, including the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore., showed interest in Swearingen, but were not able to offer comparable benefits.

“Their money came down to the point where I could afford to go to college,” Swearingen said of Waldorf.

Going to a college so far from home may take some getting used to, but Swearingen sees it as another opportunity to mature.

“I’m going to be homesick,” he said. “It’s going to be different, but change is always good. Hopefully I’ll grow from it.”