Auburn Football Player Says He Wants To Try And Make Olympic Team

By Todd Grasley for DyeStat

Football or track and field? That's the decision looming for Anthony Schwartz, a standout wide receiver for the Auburn Tigers, but also one of the fastest young sprinters in the world. 

“If I had to pick between a future in the NFL or making an Olympic team, I’d have to pick the Olympics,” Schwartz said Wednesday following Auburn’s 31-24 loss to Minnesota in the Outback Bowl. 

(Photo by Todd Van Emst, Auburn Athletics)

Schwartz brought home a silver medal in the 100-meter dash at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships and recorded some of the fastest wind-legal times in high school history, including his personal best of 10.09 seconds at the Great Southwest Classic. 

At the Outback Bowl, Schwartz caught six passes for 49 yards to conclude a sophomore season where he caught 41 passes for 440 yards and scored three touchdowns (two of them rushing).

“I think this year will be a big key in my track career, depending on how I do and if I do good enough or don’t do good enough,” he said. “If I make an Olympic team, I feel like I will stick with track and field, but if I’m running the kind of season I did last year, then I think I’d just stick with football.” 

Schwartz was named the Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year his senior season at Plantation American Heritage. Last spring as a collegiate sprinter, he placed sixth in the 100 at the SEC Championships. His best time was 10.21 seconds and he did not advance to the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships. 

“It’s not really that hard to do both sports. It’s more time consuming trying to balance (sports) as well as academics and school,” he said.

Schwartz's football teammate Shaun Shivers, a running back, is another former South Florida track star. The two went head to head on the track throughout high school and their passion for the sport picks up again once the football season ends.

“IWe’ve run against each other for four or five years now and we both have the same goals,” Schwartz said. “We both work hard and we both know what we want the end result to be.”

Schwartz is aiming for continued success on the football field and on the track.

“I want to make the Olympic team this year," he said. "Football-wise, I want to win an SEC Championship.”