Miami Dolphins WR Anthony Schwartz isn’t looking back on track, Olympic dream
Miami Dolphins receiver Anthony Schwartz on his vision for the season
Miami Dolphins receiver Anthony Schwartz on his vision for the season
MIAMI GARDENS — In another life, Anthony Schwartz was saying, he might be on the other side of the world now. He may have spent Friday not sweating with Miami Dolphins teammates under a sizzling South Florida sun, but marching into the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
That’s no pipe dream. As a track star at Plantation-American Heritage, he recorded the fastest times in the nation. But football, he decided, was going to be his calling.
And even with the Olympics taking place, this isn’t a time to look back.
You run as fast as Schwartz does, you’d better keep your eyes straight ahead.
“I will say I have no regrets on what position I chose because football has done a lot for me and it was always my first love,” Schwartz said Friday. “But I always say there is a universe out there where I’m suiting up right now — suiting up, flying over to Paris, getting ready to dominate the 1, 2, 4×1 (100-meter, 200 and 4×100 relay).”
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Schwartz is fast enough that years ago he and Tyreek Hill had banter going over who was the fastest, swearing that one day they’d settle it. The closest they ever came to racing, however, was testing one another in their get-off. Schwartz said on the first try, they tied. On the second, Hill jumped early. (It’s a given that Hill would have a different recollection of it, of course.)
Tyreek Hill played a role in Anthony Schwartz joining Dolphins
But had it not been for Hill, Schwartz, 23, might not be with his hometown NFL team. He began his career as a third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns out of Auburn in 2021 but was released after totaling 14 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown in two seasons.
With a chance to sign anywhere, he recalled the week leading up to a Nov. 13, 2022, game in which the Browns lost in Miami 39-17. As a member of the Browns’ scout team, Schwartz had to mimic Hill against Cleveland’s defense.
“Just everything I was doing, I was like, ‘Oh, I like this,’ ” Schwartz said. “I just knew from that point on, I was like, ‘If I can get the chance to come down here, not only is it back home, back in the sun, it’s a place I’m familiar with and an offense that I feel like can fit my skillset really well.’ ”
Schwartz added, “You know coach (Mike) McDaniel. He loves speed and I’ve got a lot of it.”
With a deep receiving corps that includes veteran Odell Beckham Jr., Schwartz knows making the roster would be an accomplishment.
“I feel like I can just help, bring more to the table,” Schwartz said. “Those guys, they can’t play 90 straight plays, so if they need a blow, I want to be able to go in there, just be able to keep that threat there.”
Once was a time Schwartz dreamed of becoming a Dolphin
Schwartz grew up following Ricky Williams, Ronnie Brown and Reggie Bush, dreaming he’d someday wear aqua and orange.
“My hope really is just to make the team and do whatever I can to help this team get over the hump and help this team win,” he said. “As everyone knows now, we have the longest playoff win drought. Our goal is not only just to end that drought, we want to win the whole thing.”
Sobering fact: Schwartz was 116 days old when Miami last won a playoff game.
Maybe it’s being a few years removed from the track, but Schwartz doesn’t carry a sprinter’s swagger. Asked to name the fastest players on the team, he did not start with himself.
“I’ve got to prove it first,” he said. “I had the top speed in the offseason, but I’ve got to prove it again come training camp.”
So who is the fastest in his eyes?
“I’d say Ethan Bonner, me, (De’Von) Achane, Tyreek and then I think (Jaylen) Waddle,” Schwartz said.
For his dream Dolphins 4×100 relay team, Schwartz said, “I feel like I’m definitely taking it home.” Hill and Achane would be part of the group. With time to train, he said, “I think we have a chance to maybe medal.”
Since that’s never going to happen, Schwartz will be content to cheer on Twanisha Terry, a two-time world champion on the 4×100 relay for the United States out of Miami-Northwestern High.
“We dominated track and field down here,” Schwartz said. “She was the road dog there. It’s kind of just amazing to see how she went to college, kind of was up and down and then just kept working, put her head down and now she’s making the Olympic team.”
That she is, while her male counterpart is back in South Florida. Still running fast, and never looking back.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.
