Saturday didn’t start out great if you were an offensive recruit but the Florida Gators offense got going late and impressed several guys in the Swamp.
Receiver Anthony Schwartz (6-0, 172, Fort Lauderdale, FL. American Heritage) made his first trip to the Swamp on Saturday and left impressed by the fans.
“It was great, it was my first time actually coming to a game in the Swamp,” Schwartz said. “It was just a great atmosphere compared to the other games I’ve been too. I just felt like the crowd was into it and I came to the perfect game a rivalry game.”
Sitting in the south endzone Schwartz was reading the Tennessee defense and saw the play call that he wanted to see from Florida to Tyrie Cleveland.
“I kind of saw it coming,” he said of the final play. “I read the defense and said if he runs a post, it’s going to be open. He ended up rolling out and I was scared that he was going to take the sack. But, he threw it deep and I seen that it’s one and one and he got it.”
Schwartz was very open that he didn’t like the Gators offense in week one but he liked what he saw on Saturday in Gainesville.
“The offense played a much better game this time than last time,” Schwartz said of the Florida offense. “I just felt like they were able to move the ball easier, I felt like they got the first game jitters out of a lot new players and new quarterback. They just did a lot better this time.”
One of the things that stood out to Schwartz was the Gators playing so many young guys on both sides of the ball.
“It makes a good impression because it shows that they aren’t scared to play the young guys,” he said of the freshmen playing early at Florida. “They’re going to play the best available and if that’s a freshman then they’re going to play.”
After the game was over, Schwartz had the opportunity to talk with several Gators coaches and they had a message for him.
“I talked with Coach [Kerry] Dixon, Coach McElwain and Coach [Randy] Shannon, “Schwartz said of which coaches he talked too. “They said that they don’t have any receivers that can just flat out run and you can throw it and they can get there. I can see myself running those exact routes.”
Heading into the visit Florida was out front for him and he says nothing on Saturday made him change that.
“Still the same,” he said on if Florida leads for him. “I just feel like this is one of the best places that I can do both of my sports at. I can feel like I can win in both sports and succeed in both sports.”
A few weeks ago it looked like Schwartz was going to make an early decision but those plans have changed now.
“I was thinking about committing earlier but I’m taking a step back,” Schwartz said. “I want to take all the pressure off but now I’ll probably make a decision after the season.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Florida and Auburn are both schools that Schwartz says he wants to take official visits too but it looks like those will come after the season. The Gators are still the clear leader for him.