On Thursday, we had the opportunity to interview Coach Glenn Schumann. He is popular for the way he styles a beanie and sweats in the middle of a Georgia summer, but better known for his impact on Georgia Football’s defense. He’s been responsible for the recruitment and development of names like Roquan Smith, Tae Crowder, Monty Rice, and more recently Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker, and Channing Tindall. With him being UGA’s co-defensive coordinator and the inside linebacker’s coach, the weight of replacing 2021’s elite linebacker core appears to lie on his shoulders. But with his resume, it doesn’t seem like as big of an issue as fans are making it out to be. 

In 2020, the names Quay Walker and Channing Tindall were seen in a very different light than the one they currently sit in. Tindall recorded 52 fewer tackles in 2020, but he managed to skyrocket his production in 2021 because of what Coach Schumann and this program have to offer. Names to consider taking a similar jump in 2022 could be 4th-year linebackers Trezmen Marshall and Rian Davis. Both have battled injury but are coming into good health heading into 2022. When asked about these guys and their upside Schumann said, “To see them out there competing is awesome for me as a coach because you respect what they have done. If they continue to do that, I am hopeful for them.”

But rather than focus on his position group alone, Coach Schumann made an effort to emphasize the importance of the defense’s cohesion as a whole, “…we are preparing different people with each other and making people really comfortable, being uncomfortable…Last I checked, there are 11 guys on defense at once.” At the end of the day, play can’t rely on just a couple of players and Coach Schumann wants the people to know that especially having lost talent from 2021’s defensive campaign, “We’re not reliant on one person, we’re reliant on the whole team.”

Not only is Schumann developing the talent, but he’s recruiting it too. For the 2023 recruiting class, UGA has 3 of the top 10 linebacker recruits in the nation, and I’m sure we can guess to who Georgia owes that credit. 

After seeing Dan Lanning head to Oregon, the Dawgs expect Schumann to take a step forward and play an even bigger role than he’s had in past years. The spotlight’s on him now, and we’ll have the rest of 2022 to see how he performs in the limelight.