Mitchell and Geoff Schwartz Make Their Marks in Pro Football Ranks

Pacific Palisades is hardly a hotbed for locally grown football players, but brothers Mitchell and Geoff Schwartz are certainly making an impact at the pro level. Mitchell, a second-round pick by Cleveland in April’s NFL Draft, was named starting right tackle for the Browns after a stellar performance in training camp and the preseason. He starred for Palisades High School before attending UC Berkeley. At PaliHi, Schwartz, who is 6’5′, 318 pounds, was named the City Lineman of the Year, Western League Lineman of the Year and earned Prepstar All-West Region honors his senior season. He was also named to the Principal’s Honor Roll. He started all 51 games at Berkeley from 2008-11, one shy of Syd’Quan Thompson’s school record of 52, with all of those starts coming at the offensive tackle position. He was named All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 All-Academic his senior season. After starting at left tackle his final two seasons at Berkeley, Schwartz has had to adjust to the right side of the line at the pro level. ‘I’ve felt pretty comfortable [on the right side] for a while now,’ Schwartz told the Akron Beacon Journal, prior to the team’s 35-10 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers last Thursday. ‘It’s just getting back to base technique, base fundamentals, being good with your feet, understanding where your help is. Some plays you’ll get a nice little chip from the receivers, and they’ll help on the defensive end.’ Meanwhile, older brother Geoff, who stands at 6-6, 340, continues to recover from a sports hernia suffered early in training camp and could be ready for the Minnesota’s season opener September 9 against Jacksonville. Schwartz, also a PaliHi graduate who attended Berkeley, was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round in 2008 and had his best season in 2010 when he started all 16 games, including the last 11 at right guard. However, he missed all last season with a hip injury, and on March 21 signed with the Vikings. At Palisades High, Schwartz was a center on the basketball team and pitched on the baseball team in addition to playing football.