ATLANTA — For all the years and experience Will Muschamp has coaching in the SEC, he recognizes there isn’t a whole lot he can teach Glenn Schumann.

While Schumann is no longer the youngest defensive coach on the staff, he’s in the midst of being GEorgia’s co-defensive coordinator at the age of 32. He shares the responsibilities with Muschamp, who works more with the backend of the defense. Schumann deals with the front and signals in the plays for this Georgia defensive group.

One that was one of the best units in the country in 2022.

“Glenn’s very smart, great work ethic like I talked about. I think we have a very good rapport with each other,” Muschamp said. “We’re very honest in what we like and what we don’t like. We have very good conversations. We put our egos on the shelf.

“It’s all about winning, number one, and playing good defense, number two.”

Will Muschamp shares his thoughts on Glenn Schumann

Georgia has accomplished both of those priorities this season with Muschamp and Schumann in charge. The Bulldogs have the No. 2 scoring defense in the country, the No. 1 rushing defense and rank eighth in yards per play allowed.

That’s with having to replace eight starters from last season’s team, with five of those being first-round picks. This group isn’t without talent, as safety Chris Smith and defensive tackle Jalen Carter were first-team All-Americans this year, but the group has also had its fair share of adversity to overcome. It lost star pass rusher Nolan Smith during the Florida game and has played a slew of elite quarterbacks.

Ohio State’s CJ Stroud is next in line in that department. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist after throwing for 37 touchdowns this season. As Schumann and Muschamp have done all season, they will come together, along with the rest of the defensive staff, to put a plan together to slow down the Buckeyes.

“It’s done collaboratively. It’s something that everybody shares a piece in terms of what part of the game plan it is,” Schumann said. “And then we just try to enact that as a staff when it’s going.”

While Muschamp is more known nationally, Schumann has been more instrumental in building up the Georgia culture. He was one of Kirby Smart’s first hires, moving from analyst role at Alabama to the inside linebackers coach opening in 2016 for the Bulldogs.

In the time since, he’s coached Roquan Smith, Nakobe Dean and Jamon Dumas-Johnson. All have emerged as some of the best linebackers in recent memory.

The faces change in Schumann’s room but the standard of inside linebacker play at Georgia has not.

“I’m really proud of these guys sitting with me today and how they’ve approached this season of what we perceived to have lost last year, the guys we lost on our defense and how these guys have handled this year,” Muschamp said. “Glenn has done an outstanding job. He’s a really good football coach. “

Muschamp has been the defensive coordinator at several SEC schools, in addition to being the head coach at Florida and South Carolina. For Schumann, this season saw him take on greater responsibilities with the Bulldogs.

To help deal with the larger role, Schumann thought back to how he approached things when he was just getting his coaching career started.

“There’s moments that you grow and there’s moments where you learn on the fly,” Schumann said. “There’s nothing like experience, right, in whatever role, but I wanted to always prepare when I was a GA that when I got the opportunity to be on the field, that I had confidence that I had done everything I possibly could to prepare myself for the next step.

“Then I felt like I tried from the day I got here I’ve tried to prepare myself for whatever opportunities come after that and to not wait. You don’t wait.”

A common phrase for Georgia players is that if you’re on the field you’re a starter. No matter where you find yourself on the depth chart, if you’re on the field, you’re good enough to play. Schumann and Muschamp both reflect that in their current roles, even if they’ve taken different routes to get to this point.

Muschamp is the fierier of the two, while Schumann is seen as a calming presence. The two go about doing things in different ways but when they come together, they’ve clearly put forth a great product for the Georgia football defense.

“It definitely feels good,” linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said. “You know, a lot of people didn’t think we would be back, but we’re back right now and I think we deserve it.”

Glenn Schumann recaps his first year as Georgia football defensive coordinator

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