WATCH: Glenn Schumann, Georgia defenders preview Notre Dame

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann and a quartet of Bulldog defenders took the podium today to preview UGA’s upcoming Sugar Bowl matchup with Notre Dame. It’s the first opportunity to hear from Schumann since preseason camp, so for as much conversation about the Fighting Irish as there could be, there are an equal, if not greater, number of questions to ask about the season as a whole.

DawgsHQ was on hand for the interviews. We’ve got video, plus a full transcript, of Schumann below with player video available on our YouTube channel.

Glenn Schumann Opening Statement…

“Yeah, just briefly, an honor to be in this game. One of the greatest games in all football. Notre Dame, a lot of respect for the way their program’s run, the way their team plays. They’re fast, they put in a great effort, physical. Really, just the brand of football they play, a lot of respect for it on all sides of the ball but especially on offense. They’ve been getting better throughout the entire season and it’s gonna be a great challenge.”

Schumann on if Notre Dame’s offense is similar to Georgia’s…

“They’re really balanced. I think if you said there’s a similarity, there’s a pro style demeanor to it. They run the ball, they’re good up front, lots of good backs. Size across the board, play action passing game, RPO flare in there. So there’s similarities.”

Schumann on Jalon Walker Butkus Award development…

“I mean, he’s an unbelievable person, and I think when you’re in the coaching profession, it’s about helping people achieve their dreams, whether it’s the high school level, college level, professional level. That was something that was really important to him. I think it influenced why he came here because of seeing the results in the past and the ability to do that here and develop as a complete player. And just really happy for him and his family, because that’s something that means a lot to them and any linebacker.”

Glenn Schumann on the play of the secondary…

“I think there’s been up and downs. There’s been times that we gotta get the ball down more. Obviously, you’re judged based on how you play the ball down the field at that position. And then, you’re the erasers in terms of tackling. So when mistakes show up there, they’re more glaring than maybe if a three technique makes a mistake on a play or if a backer misfits something, unless it’s egregious.

I think that they’re a group that has continued throughout this bowl process, playoff process, to work really hard and challenge themselves to get better in the areas that they need to. We’ve got to do a better job down the field. And there’s been moments where we have, and there’s moments where we’ve come up short. I think that that group has grown a lot throughout the course of the year. There’s still guys that may be older, but they hadn’t played as much and now they’ve gained a lot of experience. And that’s a position that you only play well by gaining real game experience. And that’s why you see a guy like Dan Jackson, who’s played a lot of football, playing his best football right now, because of the experience he’s gained, the confidence he’s gained in that way.”

Schumann on Riley Leonard…

“I think one of the biggest things is that Riley Leonard is a passer, not to say that the other quarterbacks that are mobile have not been. But he’s probably passing it the most efficiently that he has. His last game is one of his best games throwing football, being accurate. I think one of the big things that happens with a quarterback who is mobile is that when he extends plays, it places a lot of stress on the second and third level, in terms of matching routes on the scrambles.

Those are some of his best throws, guys come open that way. And that’s one of the biggest challenges, is not just the ability for the rush to keep him in the trap and to make him make throws from the pocket and make him uncomfortable, but also on the back end, when he does extend plays, because it will inevitably happen – that’s why people want mobile quarterbacks – when he extends plays, on the back end, continue to match your patterns and finish on the balls down the field because you see against Texas, there’s a scramble play that gets extended, and it ends up being a 50-50 ball down the field that we don’t make a play on it. That’s the stress that people miss that sometimes, people think about the rushing yards, it’s the stress it puts on the secondary when he does extend plays.”

Schumann on how the defense has done and why there’s been inconsistency…

“I think you hit the nail on the head at the end. To meet the standard and expectation of what we have for playing defense at Georgia, you have to be consistent, because if you’re inconsistent, then you’re gonna have ebbs and flows. And that could be whether it’s in coverage, tackling, execution, how you fit runs. I think this group has shown that when we’re at our best, that we can be really good and that when we don’t execute consistently, tackle consistently, leverage the football the right way, maybe cover down the right way, those type of things that we’ve given up too many explosive plays in that regard.

I think minimizing, for us, when we minimize explosive plays, we play really well. And there’s a lot of factors that go into that. I think that the better we tackle, the better we play the ball down the field, the better we execute, that brings that consistency. That’s what we need moving forward. And when we’re consistent, we’re pretty good and when we’re not, and there’s been some times where yards have been gained or points have been given up — you can’t have an approach of people saying, my bad, I’ll do it next time. That doesn’t exist in football. One play changes the game. And so I think just attacking the consistency piece, there’s no exact — if I had the exact answer to that, we had the exact answer to that, then you’d solve it. It hasn’t been one thing all year. In game to game, it’s been a little bit different. But I think when we’re at our best, we’re pretty good. And we just gotta be consistent moving forward, tackling coverage, all those areas.”

Glenn Schumann on a bend but don’t break mindset…

“I mean, the goal every time you take the field is a three and out or a takeaway. So I wouldn’t say that’s a strategy, bend but don’t brea, that’s just something that’s happened. I think we’ve done a really good job that when we’ve given up an explosive, for the most part, we’ve managed to shut things down.

When we haven’t, and the drive extended, that’s where the points have shown up. I credit to our guys that when we did give up plays in the last game, and a lot of games this year, we’ve shown up in the red zone. And we have to tighten up and make the plays that are necessary. I obviously don’t want them to get down there at all.”

Schumann on Gunner Stockton…

“Gunner, speak about the athleticism, the ability to move in the pocket, extend plays, he makes you defend the entire field and he makes you play honest on defense. You have to account for him on any given play and it opens up a lot of those plays we’re talking about with Riley Leonard, where he extends plays and is able to throw the ball down the field that way. He does that.

You have to account for him in your rush when you’re playing certain coverages. And that’s a big part of playing quarterback nowadays, making the defense play honest. I think that’s the biggest thing about Gunner, he’s extremely competitive. He adds a dimension to the offense that y’all saw a little bit of in the past, and we’ve seen a lot of over the years.”

Schumann on the defense needing to be on its game more because of a backup quarterback…

“I mean, it’s championship football, it’s playoff football. It’s a one game season. I think that we have to do our part in every game. 

We don’t set goals on defense based on what our offense does. We set goals on defense based on what our standards and expectations are in terms of the points we wanna allow. Our expectations in terms of rushing defense, third down defense, red zone defense. So I think it’s leaning into, you gotta focus on doing your job.

We spoke on the consistency a second ago. If we execute and we tackle well and leverage the football, we just wanna play to the standard of Georgia defense. The rest will sort itself out.”

Glenn Schumann on the defensive mindset coming into the game…

“Yeah, you gotta do your job. I mean, at the end of the day, that’s the key to playing great defense. Strike blockers up front, tackle well, leverage the football, win your one-on-ones and coverage. Mentality-wise, that’s the key to playing good defense in general. And so on our end, we wanna be at our best when our best is needed. That’s something we start with day one of fall camp, and we address the defense and our expectations for the year. And we talk about being at our best when our best is needed.”

Schumann on the leadership on defense… 

“The guys that have led us all year, they’ve done a great job of demanding the best out of each other. I think that guys like Jalonn, guys like Malaki, Mykel, really any of these veteran players that have been around and they know what it takes to be successful in these games. You see them, one, setting the example for the right way to prepare. And I think that makes it easy for people to follow them. If you can see, if your best players are at their best, the rest of the guys should follow and everybody knows what we wanna do. And I think you have other guys like CJ Allen and guys who’ve been captains for us, Dan Jackson, Chaz Chambliss. They’ve been really vocal as well and they’re a focus group.”

Schumann on Will Muschamp…

“Everybody in the building loves Will Muschamp. And it’s been great because he’s really followed the same exact schedule throughout the course of the week that he did last year. Our operations have been the same. I appreciate him for making those sacrifices to still be a part of everything. And that’s something he wanted to do. Obviously, there’s things in his life and his family that he wanted to step away in some ways. But he’s actively, I mean, even when he’s not here, he’s involved in discussions. Football’s really important to him and this university is really important to him. So he’s been great throughout the entire year. And outside of this, Will’s a comedian. So outside of occasionally when he’s not there, bringing light of some situations. I would say that’s the time that you don’t see him the most because Will can make anybody crack a smile in even the most dire situations.”

Glenn Schumann on the development of KJ Bolden… 

“Speaking of the back end, it’s a really challenging position. There’s so much more beyond covering people, leveraging the ball, understanding the defense. There’s an amount of pressure that goes into that. And there’s nothing that can simulate being out there in live games, lights everywhere, cameras, packed stadiums. And I just think his poise and his composure in those moments has grown as he’s gained experience. He’s obviously a talented individual and he’s earned the right to be out there. But he’s made some really big plays and I think he’s just a calmer demeanor. Which is, nobody gets to Georgia without being a good football player, right? But the experience that takes you from, or excuse me, nobody gets to Georgia without being a really good athlete. But I think sometimes that confidence, the experience, the game slowing down, people like to say that. As that happens, guys take the next step. And I think throughout the course of the year, the game slowed down a bit for him and he’s made some huge plays for us.”

Schumann on the inside linebacker group…

“I’m really, first and foremost, I’m pleased because they’re an incredibly unselfish group. We play different rotations, different packages. They love to see each other succeed. If one of them makes a play, one of the first people to celebrate is his other teammate that’s on the field with him or the guy from his room on the sideline. So I’ve been really pleased with just their love for each other. You want that to happen. I think that room has a brotherhood to it. Within that, guys have taken advantage of opportunities and they’ve all shown up. They’ve all shown up at different points.

Obviously, Jalon receives the accolades that he did. Smael, I’m really proud of because he’s been through a lot these last couple years, and he’s battled back. And I really feel like he’s playing his best football here as we go to close, which is what he wanted to do. It’s one of the reasons why he was kind of shut down there for a little bit. But he’s great, and he’s practicing as hard as ever. CJ and Raylen have done a great job in their sophomore years, really growing up in a lot of ways. And they’ve been really vocal, they’re great signal callers. They’re really serious about how they go about their business. And that stood out when they were freshmen because they were trying to get on the field, but they haven’t become complacent at all once they’ve been on the field. They’re hungrier for more every day. They practice really hard. And guys that practice hard generally play well, and they’ve continued to get better. Chris took advantage of Smael being out and helping us in a lot of our third down packages, and he’s got a lot of ability, just like Justin (Williams) does. I think that freshman group, Kris Jones has been out, but that freshman group’s really mature. And they go about their business the right way, which I said earlier, nobody gets here without ability. But especially at that position, maturity is so important. And being a pro at a young age, being able to get on the field because of what’s required of that position, in terms of making calls and checks for the defense. Whether it’s the front or the back end, they’ve taken pride in that.” 

Schumann on if Will Muschamp will be on the field…

“I let, so I mean, in terms of Will’s availability, he kind of determines that based on what he has going on. Obviously, on the SEC Championship Saturday, he didn’t have any other obligations, games to be at, things like that, with Vanderbilt being off. He’s gonna decide how he goes about that, and I hope he’s with us, but that’s his choice in regards to that. His role, he’d been really involved the whole time in all facets of this, whether it’s DB play or the defense as a whole. So I hope he continues to be involved on a day-to-day basis, and I would imagine his role will continue to be the same.”

Glenn Schumann on the health of the defensive line…

“Yeah, it’s great to have guys available, right? I mean, availability is one of the best abilities in football, and so, like, for coaches and players alike, and so there’s strength in numbers. As you have more guys available, I think, especially the big guys, you’re able to stay fresher, and it’s just natural. So if you’re 300 pounds or 280 pounds, the fresher you are, the better you’re gonna give effort, chase the ball, the better your burst is gonna be getting off the ball in pass rush. And I think it keeps everybody at their peak performance longer. And I’m really proud of those guys who had to play games where we had guys playing 50 plus snaps a game in the interior D-line that their career high had been in the 30s. And so early in the year when guys were banged up, guys rose to the occasion. And all that experience, I think, has helped us in the long run. And if we’re healthy, we should be even better.”