Anthony Schlegel attended Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Texas where he was a member of both the football team and the wrestling team. He was the state heavyweight champion wrestler as a junior and the runner up as a senior. In football Schlegel was an all-district selection as a junior and an all-district, all-area and all-state selection as a senior. He went on to play at the Air Force Academy where he started out as the team’s backup middle linebacker. He started the final six games of the year. Schlegel had a partially torn MCL but continued to play through it the rest of the season. He finished with 48 tackles on the year and was named honorable mention all-mountain west and third team freshman all-American. Prior to his sophomore season, Schlegel was elected defensive team captain by his teammates. He started all 13 games that season, finishing with 116 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble on the year. He became the first Air Force defender to record over 100 tackles in a season in five years. He was named defensive MVP for his play in the San Francisco bowl. In 2003, Schlegel transferred to Ohio State. He participated in spring drills and worked with the scout team during the season but he did not play due to NCAA transfer rules. Schlegel started 7 games as a junior in 2004 when starter Mike D’Andrea went down with a knee injury. and finished third on the team in tackles with 84 stops on the year. He added 3 ½ sacks to his credit. Anthony Schlegel had another strong year as a senior member of the best linebacking corps in college football. He finished the season with 82 tackles and 2 sacks on the season.

Anthony Schlegel has good size for a middle linebacker. He is a very physical player who excels at stopping the run up the middle. He has great instincts and does a good job of reading and reacting to what the offense is doing. He has good strength which allows him to shed blocks and get to the ball carrier. For the most part he is a fundamentally sound tackler although he will miss a tackle on occasion. He is an extremely tough player who has and will play through minor injuries. He also is a hard worker who is constantly trying to improve himself. He possesses great leadership ability and was a team captain when he was just a sophomore at Air Force. Schlegel lacks ideal speed and athleticism which can cause problems for him making plays on the outside or dropping back into coverage. Anthony Schlegel is a great run stopper up the middle but his lack of ability in coverage may force him to be more of a two down linebacker at the professional level. He does have talent and all the intangibles you could want in a player which will help his cause. He should be an early second day pick in the 2006 NFL draft.