April 30, 2016
Chicago, Ill.----- Wes Schweitzer became the second San Jose State University football team captain from the 2015 season to be selected in the 2016 National Football League (NFL) Draft when the Atlanta Falcons chose him in the sixth round as the 195th overall pick.
The 6-foot-5, 314-pound offensive tackle was a mainstay in the Spartans offensive line since 2013. The 2015 second-team All-Mountain West selection started 37 consecutive games at left tackle for San Jose State capped with the 27-16 win over Georgia State in the inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
Schweitzer will be reunited with former San Jose State assistant coach Keith Carter, who coached the offensive line in the 2014 season and worked out his former protégé during the pre-draft build up. According to Schweitzer, he will be slotted as a guard and a center prospect.
"I'm still in shock," Schweitzer said shortly after his selection. "This was a long process. I never thought it would happen. I want to make the most of it."
According to the newest Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman, the 2015 game at Auburn in which the Spartans rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-21 loss to the Tigers caught the eyes of NFL scouts and player personnel directors.
Schweitzer became a Falcons draft choice even though he did not receive an invitation to the 2016 NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
"I worked hard every day and ignored the outside distractions," he said about the four-plus month process from the end of the Spartans' season to the NFL Draft.
Playing with four sophomore starters, the San Jose State offensive line paved the way for one of the most balanced offenses in the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For just the second time in school history, the Spartans rushed for at least 2,000 yards and scored 20 touchdowns and passed for more than 2,000 yards and 20 scores in the same season. Schweitzer could be found blocking for running back Tyler Ervin, drafted at the start of the final day of the NFL Draft by the Houston Texans in the fourth round.
The biochemistry major from Scottsdale, Ariz., played in 44 games after redshirting the 2011 season. He made one start as a redshirt freshman in 2012 as the left tackle in the Colorado State win and spent the rest of the year as the team's top reserve lineman. Overall, he started in 38 games for the Spartans.
Schweitzer was a four-time academic all-conference student-athlete. The first came from the Western Athletic Conference and the last three from the Mountain West. He also was named a 2015 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District VIII and a National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society inductee.
Schweitzer also will be reunited former San Jose State teammate and defensive back Akeem King, a Falcons seventh round draft choice in 2015.
Recent San Jose State University Football NFL Draft Selections
| Player | Drafting Team | Year | Round/(Selection) |
| Tyler Ervin, RB | Houston Texans | 2016 | 4th round (119) |
| Wes Schweitzer, OT | Atlanta Falcons | 2016 | 6th round (195) |
| Akeem King, S | Atlanta Falcons | 2015 | 7th round (249) |
| Bené Benwikere, CB | Carolina Panthers | 2014 | 5th round (148) |
| David Fales, QB | Chicago Bears | 2014 | 6th round (183) |
| David Quessenberry, OT | Houston Texans | 2013 | 6th round (176) |
| Jarron Gilbert, DT | Chicago Bears | 2009 | 3rd round (68) |
| Christopher Owens, CB | Atlanta Falcons | 2009 | 3rd round (90) |
| Coye Francies, CB | Cleveland Browns | 2009 | 6th round (191) |
| Dwight Lowery, CB | New York Jets | 2008 | 4th round (113) |
| James Jones, WR | Green Bay Packers | 2007 | 3rd round (78) |
| John Broussard, WR | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2007 | 7th round (229) |