Former Bruin Goes from Biochemist to Second-Round Draft Pick

If his play on the field was any indication of how he goes about life, then you wouldn’t be surprised that Carson Schwesinger took the hard route to get to where he is.

The former Bruin and current Cleveland Brown was drafted with the first pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. And he did it all as a walk-on while enrolling at UCLA.

Why walk-on? Schwesinger had zeroed in on UCLA as his top school due not just to its storied athletics department, but what he could do in the classroom.

Upon enrolling, he declared his major to be bioengineering, an unorthodox path for a Division I athlete. However, Schwesinger was intrigued by science and wanted to follow in his sister Payton’s footsteps, who went to UCLA to study physiological science.

Ultimately, as he progressed as both a student and an athlete, Schwesinger earned the trust of his coaches to be an impact player on both special teams and on defense. He led the nation in solo tackles and ranked third in total tackles, leading to the Browns zeroing in on him during the Draft.

Who knew that Cleveland was the best place for him?

In a world where there are very few people with bioengineering backgrounds, Schwesinger teamed up with Browns linebacker coach Jason Tarver, who also played for UCLA and has a degree in biochemistry and a master’s in molecular biology.

While in school, Tarver received a Prize for Distinguished Teaching in biochemistry twice.

Talk about worlds colliding.

“There was a chance when I was at UCLA that I would've taught some of his classes when I was in graduate school, which is really crazy," Tarver said during Browns minicamp.

Aside from the connection through biochemistry, the chemistry on the field has been seamless (pun intended).

"Carson really does a really good job of being able to focus on each play and making the next play his best play," Tarver said. "It's one of the things that I've said before, but that's usually where a rookie will struggle, where he is worried about what he just did or hangs onto it.”

Schwesinger is already expected to take on a bigger role in his rookie year with the season-long (and potentially career-ending) injury to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. And the fact that he’s already cozying up to his coach, that’s half the battle.

It may have been a match made in heaven for Tarver and Schwesinger, but nothing in this league is given. However, for Schwesinger, the kid who had to fight for everything he’s gotten, that shouldn’t be a problem.

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