Gus Malzahn kept his promise, and it helped Anthony Schwartz turn a corner on Saturday.

The coach said, after Schwartz touched the ball just once for minus-4 yards in the Tigers’ loss at Florida two weeks ago, that it was time to make a “concerted effort” to get the sophomore receiver the ball more in the second half of the year.

And if Auburn’s 51-10 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville was any indication, that plan makes Auburn’s offense more dynamic.

Schwartz led the Tigers in receptions (six) against an SEC foe for the first time in his career and turned in a career-best eight touches from scrimmage for 103 yards and a touchdown.

The increased role — and its subsequent success — was two-fold: Schwartz’s hand had the least medical apparatus on it of any game this season, and the receiver made a position switch during the bye week.

"We didn’t have a cast on him any more, so that was the big thing," Malzahn said of Schwartz. “He had a pad on it, so we were able to do everything, and we want to give him the ball. He’s an impact player."

Schwartz said postgame that the previous wrap on his left hand — which he broke in fall camp and underwent surgery on in early August — hindered his ability to naturally field any ball that wasn’t a direct shot to his chest.

He returned to a full range of motion with his hands against the Razorbacks, snaring quick-fire RPO slants from Bo Nix and hauling in a 28-yard pass over his shoulder for a touchdown in the third quarter — his first receiving score in over a year (Oct. 13, 2018, vs. Tennessee).

“It was great," Schwartz said. "I just feel like I’m back to myself. I just feel free."

Schwartz also moved to the flanker receiver spot during the bye week. He had been playing split end, or “X,” receiver for the first half of the season. That’s leading wideout Seth Williams’ position, making it difficult to put both big-play threats on the field at once.

Now, with Schwartz healthy enough to make the plays required of the position, Auburn is forcing to defense to account for both he and Williams.

“You can’t double both of us,” Schwartz said. “If you want to double both of us, we’ll just run it down. Especially on my touchdown, [Williams] kind of occupies the boundary safety, so it just leaves me with a one-on-one to the field, and almost 10 times out of 10 I’m going to win my one-on-one.”

"[Schwartz] goes down and burns everybody deep and catches balls. That's what he does," Williams added. “And now we're seeing him catch some slants, too. He's back to regular Flash."

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