FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons sixth-round Wes Schweitzer, who played at San Jose State, was a skinny wrestler in high school before a 80-pound weight gain.
“I wrestled in high school,” Schweitzer said. “I went to state as a junior. I wrestled at 189. I gained 80 pounds for senior year of high school and then I didn’t wrestle after that. I played football.”
How did that happen?
“As a junior, I went to my second high school, Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona,” Schweitzer said. “I was 189 pounds and I never started until my senior year in football. I wrestled at state in February at 189 and by the fall of my senior year I was 270.”
Schweitzer had a growth spurt from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-5 and worked out.
“I was tall and skinny,” Schweitzer said. “I had the frame. I just met the right strength coach.”
He was sent to join the Marines after high school.
“I didn’t have any offers and basically I was going to join the Marines because I wanted to serve my country,” Schweitzer said. “As I was going to get my physical and swear-in to start the whole process, I got my first offer from New Mexico. I decided play college football after that. I had seven offers and I chose San Jose State.”
Schweitzer played tackle in college, but the Falcons are moving him to guard.
“My (offensive) line coach from last year is an assistant coach with the Falcons now, Keith Carter,” Schweitzer said. “He had a real run-heavy NFL-styled system. He came from the Seahawks. The transition from tackle … is pretty much going to be the same concepts.”
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