3 Things to know about Cleveland Browns new wide receiver Anthony Schwartz

Getting to know Cleveland Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz a little better

Anthony Schwartz, the new wide receiving rookie sensation the Cleveland Browns drafted early in the 3rd round of the NFL draft this past spring has certainly started his NFL career on high note.

The Auburn product had a nice opening game in week one when the Browns played the Kansas City Chiefs. He grabbed three Baker Mayfield passes for 69 yards and also had a nifty jet sweep gallop for 17 yards.

With the absence of Browns veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, who is still recovering from a serious knee injury a year ago, Schwartz will continue to be a focal point of the Browns offense. Here are a few things of note in Schwartz’s past that make this new Browns highlight reel worth paying attention to this season.

Auburn came calling

Schwartz played high school football at American Heritage Plantation High School in Florida. He really wasn’t intending on playing high school football because he was a runner too and was fast.

He played on flag football teams in his youth and the football coaches at the high school took note of his quickness and eventually convinced Schwartz and his family to play tackle football. He was used in special teams a lot and on gadget plays as well because of that uncanny speed.

Eventually, his high school won back-to-back high school football titles in Florida. Schwartz hadn’t been recruited that much early in high school, but by his junior season, many more schools offered him scholarships. Wisconsin and Florida offered him full rides but in the end, Schwartz picked Auburn. The Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn had agreed to allow Schwartz to run track too at the school, a real selling point for Schwartz who had been running since a little kid.

The “Flash” nickname

The “Flash” nickname came from middle school and Schwartz has gone by that nickname ever since. There are stories of his mom getting him involved in sports because Schwartz was always on the move inside and out of his home plowing into his living room couch when he’d race around his home.

So getting him out on the track or on a flag football team seemed to help Schwartz and his mom as he grew up. That energetic kid was at least working on crafts that would lead him to be drafted by the Browns this past spring.

A track champ and international superstar as a youth

If you take a look at Schwartz’s track history as a youth and the places he’s traveled to internationally, you can understand a bit of why the Browns were so high on drafting him. He has won numerous events especially at the sprint categories like the 100 and 200-meter dashes.

That wasn’t always the case early on in his track career. He was fast as a youth but his track coaches at his high school were having him run a number of different races including the 800-meter run which is two laps around a track. It’s one of the most difficult races to compete in.

Schwartz was starting to beg his coaches to let him run just the shorter races and after the coaches agreed, only if he ran better in those races, Schwarz started running away from his competition. He finished his high school career winning both the 100 and 200 meter runs in state record times.

He also was traveling the world and winning those races too. Back in 2018, he traveled to Finland and took home a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the World 20U Championships. He and his teammates also took home the gold medal in the 4 X100 meter relay during those championships.

Schwartz now has a new gig with the Browns, and though he’s not running races as he did a few years ago, he’s certainly starting to put fear into opponent’s minds and could be on the cusp of a breakout career in Cleveland.