Glenn Schumann, Georgia defensive coordinator
Glenn Schumann, Georgia defensive coordinator
Glenn Schumann begins his ninth season with the Georgia football team and is the only assistant to have been under contract with Kirby Smart during his entire tenure as head coach of the Bulldogs.
At 34, he is still the Bulldogs’ second-youngest assistant coach, with only 32-year-old outside linebacker coach Chidera Uzo-Dirbie being younger.
Schumann took over as defensive coordinator in 2022 when Dan Lanning left for Oregon. Schumann shared the co-coordinator title with Will Muschamp this year and now receives a generous salary ($2 million per year) for leading the defense.
Muschamp took on an analyst role last winter and Travaris Robinson, who was recruited from Alabama, stepped in as co-defensive coordinator.
Schumann and Robinson met with reporters this week. Here are three takeaways from their testimony:
Progress report on five-star DBs KJ Bolden and Ellis Robinson
Georgia’s defense added two five-star players to its secondary last winter.
Safety KJ Bolden appears to be well-equipped for playing time, even if he does not have a starting position.
Cornerback Ellis Robinson IV may not have such a clear chance at playing time, as returning starter Daylen Everette and sophomores Daniel Harris and Julian Humphrey are more experienced.
“As a freshman, it doesn’t matter how successful you are, whether you’re an instant success or whether you have to go through some of the growing pains that guys have gone through in the past, just the transition from high school to college is tough for a normal student, right?” Schumann said. “And what separates guys who can help you at a young age from guys who need some time often doesn’t necessarily have to do with ability, but with maturity and their preparation.”
The 6’0″ and 185-pound Bolden received high praise from Kirby Smart at SEC Media Days, saying he was ahead of what Malaki Starks, now a two-time All-American, had accomplished as a freshman at the time.
“KJ is doing a really good job with the reps he’s getting,” Travaris Robinson said.
While he doesn’t have any experience at the college level, that doesn’t mean he won’t be playing soon.
“I think in terms of his approach, he’s matured since his time here, and when you combine that with skill, you continue to grow and have a chance to become a good player,” Schumann said. “He’s very serious and focused on the task at hand, which you have to do day in and day out.”
Dan Jackson, who started six times in his career, could still start ahead of Bolden in the opening game.
“There’s going to be some new things in the game that you need experience for,” Robinson said. “You need guys who have been on fire and done it. That’s why it’s a little difficult to play that position, but we’ve got guys who do it everywhere I’ve been.”
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Robinson, who played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, has improved his performance in training this month, Schumann said.
“I think he’s addressed his personal conditioning and everything else to maximize his ability,” Schumann said. “And I’m not saying he hasn’t, but there are a lot of demands at that position to be able to play to his best on every snap. I think the way he’s approached that has given him the opportunity to compete in camp, and he’s got to continue to do that.”
Gabe Harris, another Bulldog with a “versatile position”
There has been a lot of talk this offseason about expanded roles for versatile defensive players Mykel Williams at outside linebacker and defensive end and Jalon Walker at inside and outside linebacker.
Not as much has been said about another Bulldogs defender who also falls into this category.
This is Gabe Harris, who was recruited as an outside linebacker but was also used as a defensive end.
The 6-foot-4 Thomasville native now weighs 265 pounds, 33 pounds more than last season.
“On game day, their roles are based on what we think is best to win the game,” Schumann said. “As these guys have matured and grown and been able to go through that learning process multiple times, they can take on more and it’s easier to use them in different roles. Guys that can do multiple things, you obviously want to find ways to highlight them when they’re being productive.”
Harris shined in the spring game, dropping running back Roderick Robinson and making three solo tackles. He had three tackles as a freshman last year and nine tackles in 11 games.
“Gabe has developed into a versatile player who was basically just a defender before and is now a more versatile player,” Schumann said.
Smart said after the spring game that Harris was “nervous and difficult to block” but sometimes played “out of control.”
“Sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get from Gabe,” Smart said. “But you get great effort and great toughness. I love that.”
The status of the race for the starting cornerback position at the beginning of the second week of the preseason
With just under three weeks to go before the season opener against Clemson, Schumann isn’t ready to simply describe the corner spot opposite Everette as a spot between Harris and Humphrey.
“The whole room is still up for competition,” he said. “When you play corner in college football, you not only have to be a man-to-man coverage player, but you also have to show up in the run game, perimeter block destruction for bubble screens and be a good tackler. So that’s what we need from that position in general: be successful in man-to-man play, play the ball down the field and still be a factor in the perimeter block destruction game and tackling. And I think these guys shine in each of those areas.”
Humphrey and Harris did not play for Georgia, but played in nine and six games, respectively, last year. According to Pro Football Focus, Humphrey played 169 snaps in the secondary last season and Harris played 80.
