AUBURN, Ala. – We knew Anthony Schwartz was fast. But when he turned the corner and simply raced past the Tennessee defender down the right side on a 76-yard touchdown reception late in the first half Saturday, his "track speed" was on full display.
You're not catching @AuburnFootball's Anthony Schwartz 👀 pic.twitter.com/E6ELp0loFQ
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) October 13, 2018
Clearly, the defender misjudged how fast Schwartz was. He couldn't even get a hand on him as he ran by. But his teammates know just how fast he is. They see it every day in practice.
"It was a great move," senior wide receiver Ryan Davis said. "I know once he gets a straight line, there's nobody that's going to catch him. He just does what he does. It's not surprising to me."
"You get the ball in that guy's hands, you better watch out," added quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
The 76-yard touchdown was Auburn's longest play of the season, and for Schwartz, it was his second career touchdown reception. The true freshman wide receiver finished with two catches for 83 yards and also ran the ball three times for 44 yards.
That's 127 total yards on five touches, which is just over 25 yards per touch.
"I think he's one of our big-play guys," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "Every time he touches the football, he does something positive."
Fellow freshman Seth Williams also had himself a day Saturday with five catches for a team-high 85 yards and a late 14-yard touchdown grab where he went up and took it away from the defender in the end zone. It was his second career touchdown at Auburn.
Williams is a different player than Schwartz. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, he's not as fast. But he's bigger, and he can jump about as high as anybody on the team. He also caught just about everything that was thrown his way against Tennessee, including a couple key receptions on third down that moved the chains for the Tigers.
Between the two, there's a lot to be excited about at wide receiver for Auburn.
"They're the future," Davis said. "The future is definitely bright. I know our receivers are going to be in good hands once I leave. If they keep doing that week in and week out, it's going to keep giving them confidence going forward. It's just very pleasing to see."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf