Glenn Schumann Press Conference, Georgia Football Preseason
Glenn Schumann Press Conference, Georgia Football Preseason
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00:00 - Thank you, Leland.
00:01 Good afternoon.
00:02 How's everybody?
00:03 - Good.
00:04 - Good.
00:05 I told I had 15 minutes, but Chubin loves to talk,
00:06 so now I'm down to 10, apparently.
00:09 All right, but we are in the middle of camp, as you know.
00:12 Okay, going in, we got day six practice
00:14 coming up this afternoon.
00:16 Meetings start here very shortly, actually,
00:18 so anytime you do something like this
00:19 and you got meetings at one o'clock,
00:21 you get very anxious as a coach, okay,
00:23 especially when Coach Smart is the one
00:26 that's overseeing all that.
00:27 So we are excited.
00:29 The guys are working hard.
00:30 The elements have been hot,
00:32 which is exactly the way we want it.
00:35 And so we're excited about where the team's at right now,
00:38 and especially the tight ends.
00:40 The tight ends are competing hard,
00:41 but thankful for the opportunity to be here
00:44 speaking to you guys today,
00:45 and I'm open to any questions.
00:46 - Coach, being from a small town in middle Georgia,
00:50 just kind of quickly just go through your coaching journey
00:53 from how you got to graduate, UGA graduate,
00:55 and then go from Western Denver, Marshall,
00:57 Georgia, and Miami, and back.
00:58 - Yeah, that might take more than 10 minutes,
01:00 but I'll try to be quick.
01:02 Proud graduate, Jones County High School, '04,
01:05 and knew I wanted to come to Georgia,
01:09 grew up a Georgia fan my whole life.
01:11 Had the opportunity to come here,
01:12 got into coaching, okay,
01:14 thought I was gonna be a high school coach,
01:16 get my degree in education, be a health and PE teacher.
01:19 All plans on being a high school coach.
01:20 Coach Rick, okay, he's probably the greatest influence
01:22 on my life to this point.
01:24 Gave me an opportunity to come here
01:25 and be a student assistant,
01:26 and I did that for three seasons,
01:29 worked my way up, once it was time to graduate,
01:32 I no longer wanted to be a high school coach.
01:33 I wanted to be a college coach,
01:35 and so I had an opportunity to go
01:37 to West Virginia University as a graduate assistant
01:39 in 2008 with Dave Johnson.
01:41 Dave Johnson was the tight end coach here at Georgia,
01:44 and he got the O-line job at West Virginia
01:46 when Bill Stewart took me with him as his GA.
01:48 Came back to the '08 season, Willie Martinez called me up,
01:51 said, "Hey, I want you to come be
01:52 "my defensive graduate assistant."
01:54 I said, "Defense?
01:56 "You guys are the enemy, man.
01:56 "I ain't going to defense."
01:58 And he said, "It'd be the best thing for you
02:00 "as an offensive coach to come learn some defense."
02:02 So I came back in 2009 to be Coach Martinez's
02:06 graduate assistant, okay?
02:08 There were some staff changes after that year.
02:10 I was able to coach in the bowl game that year,
02:11 the Independence Bowl out in Shreveport.
02:14 Grantham came in, I did one season with Coach Grantham
02:16 as his graduate assistant in 2010,
02:18 and I got my first full-time job
02:19 at Marshall University with Doc Holliday.
02:21 Very thankful for Coach Holliday
02:23 for giving me the chance to be the safeties coach
02:25 and the special teams coordinator.
02:27 Did that for two years, and it seems there,
02:29 I was stuck on the defensive side of the ball, okay?
02:32 Was trying to get back on offense,
02:33 the tight ends job opened up,
02:34 Coach Holliday moved me up to tight ends in 2013.
02:37 Did that 2013, 2014, and Coach Rick called me back
02:41 and wanted me to come run his recruiting department in 2015.
02:44 I didn't want to move off the field,
02:45 but I told my wife we had a chance to come out to Athens,
02:46 and she left before I could get it out of my mouth.
02:49 So, came back to Georgia in 2015.
02:52 As you know, that was Coach Rick's last season.
02:54 Coach Smart gave me the chance to stay on staff,
02:56 all right, as director of recruiting,
02:59 but Coach Rick took me down to Miami
03:00 as his tight ends coach and special teams coordinator.
03:02 So, I did that for three seasons.
03:04 Once Coach retired, Kirby called me back,
03:06 and I've been very fortunate to be back coaching
03:09 with Coach Smart at my alma mater,
03:10 very proudly, since 2019.
03:12 - Todd, appreciate that.
03:16 It's interesting that tight ends
03:19 is a place that you settled,
03:20 and it seems like a place that you've always liked.
03:22 I have a question about the recruiting
03:24 you've been able to do here.
03:26 - Yes, sir.
03:27 - Why do you think that is,
03:28 that you've been able to identify and land
03:31 the tight ends of the ilk of Brock Bowers?
03:34 - Well, the first thing I'll say is,
03:37 recruiting a group effort can't start from the head coach,
03:39 and there's not a better recruiter in the country
03:41 than Kirby Smart, I'll tell you that.
03:42 So, when you have Coach Smart's influence,
03:44 it's not as hard walking into a living room
03:48 and you know you got Coach Smart behind you, right?
03:50 The other thing is the Pirate logo.
03:52 I mean, when you got that G on your chest
03:53 and you walk into a school,
03:54 you get instant credibility, you get instant respect.
03:57 So, the fact that you got Georgia on your shirt,
03:59 you got Coach Smart as your head coach,
04:02 that makes the job not as hard, okay?
04:05 But I think the thing that we do a good job of here
04:07 at Georgia is investing in relationships.
04:09 Okay, I think we do a great job
04:10 of getting to know them as people,
04:12 and not just as prospects and as players.
04:15 I think that's where we went out most times,
04:17 is people appreciate the genuineness that we have.
04:19 Okay, we're real, we tell 'em how it is,
04:21 and some like it and some don't,
04:23 but most people appreciate how open we are with 'em.
04:26 - Hey Coach, I know we've been talking
04:30 a little bit about recruiting,
04:30 so I'll transition to a couple that you're a freshman,
04:33 you got, you have to work with Lawson,
04:34 Lockheed, Loughner, Spring, and now Pierce is here
04:38 a lot more, what have you kind of seen from them
04:39 and how far do you think they've come already?
04:42 - Yeah, they, you know, it's kind of the new thing
04:46 in college football is these kids
04:47 to graduate high school early.
04:49 And both of them had the opportunity to come in in January,
04:52 and I think it was very beneficial.
04:55 More so for Lawson and Pierce,
04:56 just from the fact that Pierce got hurt.
04:57 You know, Pierce got hurt, practiced three in the spring,
04:59 and with a collarbone injury, and missed the rest of spring.
05:03 He was able to come back right for the time
05:05 that we started summer workouts,
05:06 so he's been with us full speed since the summer.
05:09 But I've seen great progress in both those guys.
05:11 Obviously, Lucky had a very good spring,
05:14 took advantage of the reps that he got,
05:16 and was able to make some plays
05:18 that showed that he was able to potentially
05:20 have a do some force in our offense.
05:22 And Pierce is right there too, okay?
05:23 Pierce is getting his opportunity this camp.
05:26 And one thing he was nervous about was playing tight end.
05:29 You know, Pierce never played tight end.
05:30 Pierce played receiver in high school,
05:32 and a lot of these new age tight ends that we recruit,
05:36 they don't play tight end.
05:37 It's hard to find tight ends in high school,
05:38 so a lot of them are projection prospects.
05:41 You're projecting them to be a tight end,
05:43 and Pierce was one of those guys that has come in
05:45 and has embraced his role, and is learning to play
05:47 in the position, and I'm very excited.
05:50 I'm very pleased with how both of them
05:52 have performed at this point.
05:53 - Todd, you obviously got to work with Munkin
05:58 closely the last three years.
05:59 You sat next to him in the press box.
06:01 You know Mike very well.
06:02 You've worked with him too.
06:03 What's your view on the dynamic here?
06:05 How much changes, how much doesn't?
06:07 - First off, what a blessing, right?
06:09 To be able to, say you were,
06:11 worked for Todd Munkin for three seasons,
06:13 and then, I mean, Coach Bobo has had a major influence
06:17 on my career since I was a student.
06:19 He was here from day one, and my,
06:21 many of you don't know this, my wife was his nanny.
06:23 Back when I was a student in the GA,
06:25 my wife was their nanny.
06:26 Coach Bobo's nanny.
06:27 She was their nanny when he had five kids under five.
06:32 Five year old, three year old,
06:33 two of us and a one year old.
06:34 She was there working with Laney,
06:36 Miss Laney, and Coach full time.
06:38 So very, very close relationship with Coach Bobo.
06:40 I don't think much is gonna change.
06:44 I mean, we've been very successful in offense
06:46 the last couple years here, and you were,
06:48 you know, it's our job to continue
06:49 to find ways to be explosive,
06:51 continue to find ways to protect the football,
06:53 and, you know, put ourselves in the best position
06:56 to win the football game.
06:57 I think Coach Bobo understands what Coach Smart wants.
07:00 Okay, whether that's Munkin calling the plays,
07:02 or Bobo calling the plays,
07:03 Coach Smart wants it one way.
07:04 And that's the way we're gonna do it.
07:06 - Yeah, Coach, you've got an extremely talented
07:10 and deep room, looks like all signs indicate it,
07:12 it's getting even deeper.
07:14 How do you keep guys happy?
07:14 I mean, that was a simple question, or a compliment.
07:16 How do you keep guys happy?
07:17 - Well, I mean, I don't think it's about,
07:20 you know, kids, I'll say this, okay?
07:22 Kids are happy when they get reps, right?
07:24 And I think we do a phenomenal job
07:27 at Georgia of getting kids reps, okay?
07:29 One, that increases their development, okay?
07:32 And two, it keeps them involved.
07:33 And so the way we practice here,
07:35 I think is unlike any other place in the country, okay?
07:38 And so the way Kirby organized these practices,
07:40 and y'all been out there,
07:42 there's not one person standing around, ever, ever,
07:46 not even the injured guys, right?
07:47 So kids are constantly getting better.
07:50 And if they feel like they're working,
07:52 and they feel like they're getting developed,
07:54 then naturally, they're gonna be happy.
07:56 Now it does come back that at some point,
07:58 there's only one football,
07:59 and so you gotta find a way to get your playmakers involved
08:02 and show them that they could have a chance
08:04 to have a change in the game plan,
08:06 you know, a chance to game plan.
08:07 So, you know, these guys, specifically in my room,
08:12 okay, I think they're a special group, okay?
08:15 I think they're very well connected.
08:17 They truly care about each other, okay?
08:18 And we talk about feeding the fire, okay,
08:21 and being truly selfless, okay?
08:23 Put the team first in all that we do.
08:25 And you gotta check your ego.
08:26 And in today's world, guess what?
08:28 Checking your ego,
08:29 especially when you have five stars and four stars,
08:31 it's hard to do, okay?
08:33 But at this place, you better learn to do that real fast.
08:35 And I think my guys have done a great job at doing that.
08:41 - Presumably, it's Brock's last season.
08:44 Are you savoring the days with him,
08:46 the practices with him,
08:47 and what kind of makes him tick?
08:51 Like, what makes him so--
08:53 - Special?
08:55 - Effective and dangerous,
08:57 and what kind of buttons do you push
08:59 on a daily basis with him?
09:02 - First off, I don't know last season,
09:04 two, I don't know that.
09:05 I know that he's such a special kid, okay?
09:10 And I'm not trying to be broad there, okay?
09:12 Here's what I mean by that.
09:14 Any box you create, he checks it, okay?
09:17 I mean, just from a kid's standpoint, all right?
09:20 The kid's the hardest worker I've ever met, okay?
09:23 He'll be the first one to breakfast.
09:24 He'll be the first one in the training room
09:25 to get his ankles taped.
09:27 He'll be the first one in the meeting room, okay?
09:28 He'll be the last one to leave the field.
09:30 If we do a 10-yard sprint,
09:32 he'll be the first one to win the 10-yard sprint.
09:34 If we do a 30-yard sprint,
09:35 he'll be the first one to win the 30-yard sprint.
09:37 You get the point I'm making, right?
09:39 And I think that's what makes him special.
09:42 Yeah, he's talented, right?
09:44 He's got extreme talent.
09:45 He can run, he can jump, he can catch.
09:47 He's tough, okay?
09:49 But what makes him special to me
09:50 is just his competitiveness.
09:52 He is the ultimate competitor.
09:54 The kid don't want to lose in anything, okay?
09:57 And to be honest with you,
09:58 I need to see Oscar Delp get reps, okay?
10:00 I need to see Lawson Lucky and Pierce Burling get reps.
10:02 And when I take him off and limit some of his reps,
10:05 he gets pissed off.
10:07 He gets pissed off, okay?
10:08 I'm like, "Hey, Brock."
10:09 He's like, "What'd I do wrong?"
10:10 "Nothing, buddy.
10:11 "Just hang around here.
10:12 "It's okay, it's okay."
10:14 And you know what?
10:15 You should want it that way.
10:16 Kids should be pissed off when they don't get their reps,
10:18 okay, that tells you that he wants to be great.
10:20 So I'm just thankful for the opportunity
10:23 that I get to coach him, man.
10:24 He's such a great kid.
10:25 - Yeah, how has coaching someone as special as Brock Bowers
10:30 made you a better coach?
10:31 - Yeah, I just try to find ways
10:32 not to mess him up, I guess now, you know?
10:34 Okay, but he challenges me
10:37 to find new ways to reach him, right?
10:40 He challenges me to find new ways
10:42 to continue to make him a better tight end, right?
10:45 To continue to improve upon maybe little things in his game
10:48 that could help him possibly on the next level.
10:50 And so that is a challenge
10:52 because he is good at a lot of things.
10:53 And so continue to find maybe new individual drills
10:57 or new ways to perfect his run game technique
10:59 or his pass protection
11:00 or even his route running technique can improve at times.
11:04 That's a challenge.
11:06 But he does push me to become a better coach
11:07 because of that, okay?
11:08 And the other thing is,
11:09 I gotta find ways to get him to hush in the meeting.
11:12 Y'all think he doesn't talk,
11:14 but in the meeting he wants to answer every question.
11:15 I'm like, "Hey, buddy, hey, just let the freshman
11:18 "answer the question, I know that you know it."
11:20 Okay, but he's been a blessing to me as a coach.
11:25 And the other thing is, he set a precedent, right?
11:30 He set a standard of how you should practice at tight end.
11:34 He set a standard of how you should watch tape at tight end.
11:38 And the best thing for Oscar Delt
11:39 was being here and seeing how Brock Bowers does it.
11:42 The best thing for Lawson Lucky and Pierce Furlan
11:44 is being here and seeing how Brock Bowers does it.
11:46 So hopefully long after he's gone,
11:49 the legacy that he's left stays for many years
11:52 about how you're supposed to work,
11:54 how you're supposed to approach each day,
11:56 and how you become a pro, man,
11:57 'cause that guy's a pro in everything that he does.
11:59 And hopefully that leaves a lasting legacy.
12:03 - Todd, looking at Oscar, how far do you feel like
12:06 he's come in his time in the program?
12:07 - Yeah, I'm very proud of how hard he's worked,
12:12 because he was another one of those kids
12:14 that was a projection tight end.
12:16 I know, whatever the ratings were,
12:17 we don't look at that, he was rated high as a tight end.
12:19 I looked at him as a player, and obviously,
12:22 we like what we saw from tape and from camp,
12:24 and he had such a long way to go, okay?
12:28 And he put himself in a position to contribute last year,
12:32 and he did that, and then when it mattered the most,
12:34 when Darnell came out in the semifinal game,
12:38 he was able to go in there and perform at a high level.
12:40 Okay, but even from that point,
12:41 even from the Ohio State game,
12:43 the growth he's had from spring to summer to now
12:46 has been exponential.
12:48 I'm very proud of how hard he's worked.
12:50 He's had to, to be honest with you,
12:52 he knows that there's a void with Darnell leaving, okay,
12:55 that we gotta have at the point of attack
12:57 from a tight end standpoint, okay?
12:58 He knows that he has the potential to fill that void,
13:01 so he really had to attack his blocking technique, okay,
13:06 his run game fundamentals,
13:07 his pass protection fundamentals,
13:09 and he has done that, 'cause that's when he came in,
13:11 that's what he lacked the most.
13:12 And so, from where he came in to where he is now,
13:15 I'm very, very pleased with how hard he's worked
13:18 to get himself to this point.
13:19 - We have time for two more questions.
13:22 - To follow up on what you were saying
13:23 about finding new ways to challenge Brock,
13:25 what did you actually do to try to do that,
13:28 like, to talk to other people and so forth?
13:29 And then another thing is, you mentioned about running,
13:32 like, what about it can be better?
13:34 - Yeah, so it's, there's very few things, right?
13:38 But, you know, what Coach Mark challenges us to do
13:42 is always look for NFL clips.
13:45 These kids got the ultimate respect
13:46 for guys that play in the NFL, right?
13:48 So you're constantly trying to find clips from the NFL,
13:51 maybe a Kelsey or a Kittle or the great tight ends,
13:53 and you're looking at things that they do
13:55 that are similar to what we do,
13:56 that can show Brock, hey, maybe you,
13:58 at the top of your route,
13:59 you can sink your hips a little bit more.
14:01 You can rage out of your break a little bit faster
14:03 to create a little bit more separation.
14:04 That way, you don't have to make that superstar catch
14:07 with a guy draping all over you.
14:09 If you sink your hips and run your feet
14:10 a little bit more like Travis Kelsey,
14:12 you'll be wide open, you'll have more space,
14:14 you'll have more separation at the top of that route.
14:15 So, you know, that's the best thing that we do,
14:18 to be honest with you, is try to find some clips
14:19 from the NFL to show these guys,
14:20 'cause that immediately grabs your attention
14:22 when you put the logo of the Browns or the Chiefs
14:26 or the Eagles or somebody like that up there on the screen.
14:28 Like, whoa, okay, that's how they do it?
14:30 Whoa.
14:31 So that's probably the best thing that we do.
14:33 - You mentioned being back at your alma mater.
14:36 There's a couple of other coaches that can say that, too.
14:38 How do you feel that adds to the passion that you have
14:41 and your ability to sell playing football here in Athens?
14:43 - Yeah, so, you know, we actually use that
14:46 in our recruiting presentations.
14:49 The fact that, I don't know the exact number, okay,
14:51 26, 24, something like that, that we say,
14:55 we have 26 former alumni, okay,
14:59 that are now working in our program in some capacity, okay?
15:03 And what that illustrates is Georgia's willingness
15:08 to welcome people back, okay?
15:10 The university's willingness to,
15:12 it's not a four-year decision, it's a 40-year decision.
15:15 It's not just gonna take care of you
15:16 for your time here in Athens, okay?
15:18 But it does have the ability to help you find a career,
15:21 right, and so it also shows recruits and parents
15:25 that once you leave Athens,
15:27 a lot of people wanna come back to Athens, right?
15:30 It's a great place to raise a family.
15:32 It's a great place to, you know, build a career.
15:35 It's a great place to go to school.
15:37 I mean, you guys know, there's no place like this
15:39 anywhere else in the country.
15:40 And so I'm very thankful to have the opportunity
15:43 to coach at my alma mater,
15:44 and Coach Marsh afforded me that,
15:46 Josh Brooks has afforded me that,
15:47 and I'm very thankful for that.
15:49 - Thank you, Coach.
15:51 - Thanks, Coach. - Good.