LOS ANGELES-- One of the biggest questions UCLA football had coming into the offseason was whether linebacker Carson Schwesinger would enter the NFL Draft after a dominant junior season.
On Thursday night, Schwesinger made an answer on an Instagram post. And it was he would forgo his senior year and would be entering the NFL Draft.
UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger has announced he will be declaring for the NFL Draft via Instagram. Schwesinger was a Butkus award finalist this season leading the Bruins with 90 tackles pic.twitter.com/ROik212Lnu
— Thomas Murray (@Thomas_L_Murray) December 20, 2024
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for all the opportunities He’s provided me that brought me to this point. When I walked on at UCLA in 2021, I never imagined all the blessings that would come my way.” Schwesinger said in an Instagram post.
“My time in Westwood has been incredibly rewarding. To Coach Foster and the entire staff at UCLA, thank you for believing in me. I am the player I am today because of the commitment, time and energy you invested in me throughout my time here. To my teammates, you will always be my brothers for life. It’s been an honor to battle alongside you.”
A Los Angeles native attending high school at Oaks Christian, Schwesinger originally arrived at UCLA as a walk-on-in 2021. In his first year, he sat on the sidelines as a redshirt.
In his second year, Schwesinger moved on from being a redshirt freshman to contributing along the defense, appearing in 38 games and starting in 10 of them.
Coming into his junior season head coach Deshaun Foster made Schwesinger the captain of the defense and he didn't disappoint. Playing in all 12 of the Bruins games, he was their team leader in tackles (136), tied for the lead in interceptions (2) with Kain Medrano and Bryan Addison, and second in sacks (4). He also had 90 solo tackles and averaged 7.5 tackles per game which was the most in the FBS last season.
His junior year earned him a selection at first-team All-Big Ten, an Associated Press first-team All-American, and was also a Butkus award finalist.
