Mitchell Bryan Schwartz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Schwartz

Mitchell Bryan Schwartz (born June 8, 1989) is an American football offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He is 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall, and weighs 320 pounds (145 kg).[1]

Schwartz played college football at the University of California, Berkeley, for the Golden Bears. He started all 51 games possible from 2008–11, at either left tackle or right tackle. He was named second-team All-Pac-10 as a junior, and first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Academic as a senior. He also earned honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic (2008–10), and the Brick Muller Award as Cal's Most Valuable Offensive Lineman (2009–11), for three seasons each.[2]

Schwartz was drafted in the 2nd round (37th overall) by the Browns in the 2012 NFL draft. He started all 16 games of his rookie year at right tackle.

His brother, Geoff Schwartz, is an offensive guard for the New York Giants. They are the first Jewish brothers to play in the NFL since Ralph Horween and Arnold Horween, in 1923.

Contents [show] Early years and personal life[edit] Schwartz was born in Pacific Palisades, California, weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces, (4.0 kg) and grew up in West Los Angeles.[3][4] He is the son of Lee Schwartz, a business consultant to manufacturing companies, and Olivia Goodkin, an attorney.[1][4][5] Schwartz is Jewish, and was raised in Conservative Judaism.[4] His Hebrew name is Mendel.[4]

Schwartz didn't start playing football until he was a freshman in high school.[3] First, he was extremely large for his age; when he started the ninth grade, he was already 6 feet 5 inches tall (1.96 m), and 240 pounds (109 kg). And too big for the size restrictions of the local Pop Warner youth leagues.[3][6] Second, his parents wanted him to instead focus on studying for his Bar Mitzvah, a coming of age rite-of-passage for Jewish boys who are reaching 13 years of age, at which point they become an adult in terms of their duties.[3][4][7]

His brother, offensive tackle Geoff Schwartz, plays in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs. They are joined by Gabe Carimi as Jewish offensive linemen in the NFL.[8] Other Jewish football players in the NFL include Erik Lorig (fullback, New Orleans Saints), Taylor Mays (safety, Cincinnati Bengals), and Nate Ebner (safety, New England Patriots), while free agents include Adam Podlesh (punter), Antonio Garay (nose tackle, San Diego Chargers), Kyle Kosier (guard, Dallas Cowboys), Brian de la Puente (center, New Orleans Saints), and Igor Olshansky (defensive end, Miami Dolphins).[9][10][11] Geoff and Mitchell are the first Jewish brothers to play in the NFL since Ralph Horween and Arnold Horween, in 1923.[12][13]

His father, speaking of the fact that he has two sons playing in the National Football League, said: "I just kvell."[14][15] His mother, commenting on having two sons play football, said:

I started out worrying that they were going to get hurt—but then I realized it was the other players I should be worrying about. They were like trucks hitting small cars. And I started to kind of feel like maybe this was their destiny.[4]

High school career[edit] Schwartz attended Palisades Charter High School. Playing football for his high school team, on which he was the team captain, he was regarded as a three-star offensive tackle prospect by Rivals.com, and by Scout.com which ranked him # 23.[1][16][17]

He began as a quarterback, but quickly moved over to offensive tackle where he was a four-year starter.[3] Schwartz was a two-time All-State "underclassman" pick, and earned 2005 All-Western League and All-City honors as a junior.[2] As a senior, he was the 2006 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Los Angeles City Offensive Lineman of the Year, 2006 Western League Lineman of the Year, and received Prepstar 2006 All-West Region honors.[2][18]

Schwartz was also an all-league pitcher on the school baseball team.[3][19] Academically, he had a 4.3 GPA and a 34 ACT, and was named to the Principal's Honor Roll and Dean's List.[2][17]

Coming out of high school, he received football offers from Cal, Michigan, Stanford, Virginia, Tennessee, Oregon, and Washington State.[19] At a spring LA Scout.com combine, Schwartz measured 6 feet 5.5 inches (1.97 m) inches tall, and weighed 303 pounds (137 kg). He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.28, and had a time in the 20-yard shuttle of 4.87; he also had a time in the shuttle of 4.78 at the Stanford Nike combine.[19][20]

College career[edit] Schwartz attended the University of California, Berkeley, from 2007 to December 2011. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in American Studies, with an emphasis on human development and identity.[2][21]

He redshirted in 2007, and did not play.[2] In 2008, Schwartz started all 13 games, the first 3 games at right tackle and the remaining 10 at left tackle.[2] He was named a second-team Freshman All-American by College Football News, received the Bob Tessier Award as Cal's Most Improved Offensive Lineman, and received honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic honors.[2]

In 2009, Schwartz started all 13 games at right tackle.[2] He was Lindy's second-team preseason All-Pac-10, was Athlon third-team preseason All-Pac-10, was a Phil Steele preseason, midseason, and postseason third-team All-Pac-10 choice, received All-Pac-10 honorable mention and Pac-10 All-Academic honorable mention, and received Cal's Brick Muller Award as its Most Valuable Offensive Lineman.[2]

In 2010, he started all 12 games at left tackle, heading an offensive line that blocked for 1,167-yard rusher Shane Vereen.[2] Schwartz was a second-team preseason All-Pac-10 choice by Athlon, Lindy's, and Steele, as Steele also listed him as the nation's # 63 draft-eligible tackle.[2] He was a second-team All-Pac-10 choice, and was first-team on Phil Steele's midseason All-Pac-10 team and second-team on his postseason All-Pac-10 squad.[2] Schwartz was a member of the Jewish Sports Review's 2010 College Football All-America Team, received Cal's Brick Muller Award as its Most Valuable Offensive Lineman for the second straight year, and won Cal's Andy Smith Award as its player with the most Big "C" time.[2][22][23][24] He was also an honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic selection for the third consecutive season.[2]

In 2011, Schwartz started all 13 games at left tackle.[2] It was the fourth consecutive season in which he started each of Cal's games.[2] He headed an offensive line that blocked for 1,322-yard rushing tailback Isi Sofele, who rushed for the sixth-highest total in Cal history.[2] He helped the team average 28.3 points and 401.5 yards per game.[1]

Schwartz was a first-team All-Pac-10 preseason choice of Athlon, Phil Steele (who named him the nation's # 24 draft-eligible tackle), and Sporting News, a Lindy's second-team preseason All-Pac-10 pick (whom they listed as one of Cal's "Players to Watch"), and a third-team preseason All-American by GoDaddy.com and Sporting News.[2] He was a second-team midseason All-Pac-12 selection of Steele.[2] He received Cal's Brick Muller Award as its Most Valuable Offensive Lineman for the third straight season, and received a Cort Majors Captains Award on offense.[2] He was on the watch lists for the Outland Trophy and the Rotary Lombardi Award.[2] He was voted first-team All-Pac-12, and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection of ESPN Pac-12 Blog and Phil Steele, as well as a second-team pick of College Sports Madness and Yahoo! Sports.[2]

In his Cal career, Schwartz started all 51 games possible from 2008–11, at either left tackle (35 starts) or right tackle (16 starts), falling 1 start short of Syd'Quan Thompson's school record of 52.[2] At the 2012 Senior Bowl, he started at right tackle for the winning North team, and had what was viewed as an impressive showing.[2] [25]

Schwartz took part in the 2012 NFL Combine. He completed 23 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press, and had times of 5.38 in the 40-yard dash, 7.86 in the 3-cone drill, and 4.87 in the 20-yard shuttle. He had a vertical jump of 26.5", and a broad jump of 7' 5".[2][26] He has a 33.5-inch arm length, an 81 5/8-inch wingspan, 10-inch hands, and wears size 18 shoes.[26][27][28] Due to his shoe size, in college one of his nicknames was "Bigfoot" (he was also known as "Big Show", because he bears a facial and physical resemblance to the giant WWE pro wrestler Big Show).[29]

He had a Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test score of 35. A score of 20 is average, equal to an IQ of 100, and the average NFL player scores a 21.[30][31][32]

NFL career[edit] Cleveland Browns (2012–present)[edit] Schwartz was drafted in the 2nd round (37th overall) by the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 NFL Draft.[25] ESPN's NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. called Schwartz "the key pick" of the draft for the Browns.[33] He was Cal's highest selection in the 2012 draft, and its first offensive lineman picked in the NFL draft since Alex Mack was also taken by Cleveland in the first round in 2009.[2] He signed a four-year contract with the Browns in May 2012, for $5.17 million.[34]

In 2012, Schwartz started all 16 games for the Browns, and all 1,064 snaps, of his rookie year at right tackle.[35] Three-time All-Pro Cleveland Brown offensive tackle Joe Thomas said that he thought that Schwartz's technique was superior to Thomas's as a rookie.[7] Offensive coordinator Brad Childress and others felt comparisons between Schwartz and Thomas were valid.[36] Schwartz and Thomas would meet for nearly an hour after team meetings, to analyze the pass rushing styles of opponent defensive ends and outside linebackers for upcoming games.[36]

Marty Gitlin of CBS Sports wrote mid-season that Schwartz was developing into one of the most dependable players on the team, was arguably its finest rookie, and had been described as the most intelligent player on the team.[36] Schwartz was named to the Pro Football Focus 2012 All-Rookie team, lauded for his "top-notch pass blocking".[37]

The Browns faced his brother's team, the Chiefs, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in 2013.[38]