Auburn football: Anthony Schwartz addresses Citrus Bowl absence

Auburn football Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Auburn football Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

One of Auburn football’s top offensive weapons in the receiving core was absent during the Citrus Bowl. Anthony Schwartz doesn’t want to hear your opinion about it.

Fly War Eagle will always be on the side of Auburn football’s finest over random people on the internet. I loved Kerryon Johnson’s tongue-in-cheek response to a Twitter troll who called him out for having hobbies, and I will once again back a Tiger–this time a current one–after Anthony Schwartz gave critics of his Citrus Bowl absence a message on his own Twitter account:

Schwartz has a point here. The Citrus Bowl is a featured New Year’s day game, sure, but the Tigers didn’t have much to play for after a season that saw their head coach–who admitted to the fans that expectations were lowered–get replaced…and the man who tried to make a play for his job was serving as a lame-duck coach in a game Auburn didn’t deserve to play in in the first place.

The Bryan Harsin era is beginning now after a 35-19 loss to a clearly superior Northwestern Wildcats team. Kevin Steele was out-coached by Pat Fitzgerald, and Bo Nix was out-gunned by Peyton Ramsey, but things should be different with a new voice in the locker-room in 2021.

Schwartz could end up joining the procession of transfers to pull out of the Plains. Evidently, he is not a fan of the way certain Auburn people are speaking about his absence…and I can’t say I blame him.

During a pandemic year, fans need not angrily tweet at players who decide not to travel. When you do, you end up with angry tweets from a man who should only ever be celebrated for the blood, sweat, and tears he puts in for our entertainment.