University of North Carolina Athletics
A Conversation With Brian Schmitz
September 1, 1999 | Football
Sept. 1, 1999
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He's come a long way from his freshman year, when he wasn't sure he could get the job done. Now he enters his senior year with a ton of confidence.
With the help of his family and his girl friend, Brian Schmitz has become one of the best kickers in college football.
TarHeelBlue: Did you have any idea before the Las Vegas Bowl that it would be a special night?
Brian Schmitz: "I was almost scared before the game. You know those weren't the conditions I would like to kick in, but it couldn't have worked out any better for me. That whole week was such a memorable and special time."
TarHeelBlue: What about your 66-yard punt into a 45 mph wind?
Brian Schmitz: "I didn't know what would happen kicking into that wind. Before the game, Coach Rucker kept saying make sure you keep it low, make sure you keep it low. When I hit it I saw it sail over the returner's head, and it got a real good role down to the 5-yard line. It worked out well."
TarHeelBlue: When did you first realize you could kick a ball a lot farther than your buddies?
Brian Schmitz: "I used to go kick with dad at the local school about a block from my house. My mom and my brother and sister would also come sometimes, but my dad would always be there. I started doing that in about the fourth grade.
"I played some soccer, but I wasn't too interested in soccer. I really liked kicking and punting. My dad would always hold for me. My mom would shag for me."
TarHeelBlue: Did your dad work with you on technique?
Brian Schmitz: "We really learned it together. I didn't go to many camps when I was a kid. I pretty much taught myself. I basically learned it on the fly."
TarHeelBlue: Who works with you on your mechanics at UNC?
Brian Schmitz: "Coach Rucker does. He's great with that. That's probably the biggest change since Coach rown left. Coach Rucker knows we know what we can do, and he just lets us do our own thing. When he sees you do something wrong he lets you know, but he doesn't harp on it. You just go and change it.
"That's probably been the best thing that's happened to me here so far, Coach Rucker coming in and taking over. He's my man. He's made me much more confident. That's a direct correlation to the year I had last year. I was at ease out there, I knew I was going to do well.
"I am so looking forward to being out there this year, probably more than at any time in my life in either college or high school. My confidence is so high, and I know our kicking game is the soundest its been since I've been here. We've just got to put it all together, and I'm sure we will."
TarHeelBlue: Do you think the special teams in general are more confident now?
Brian Schmitz: "Yes, I know Josh (McGee) and I are, we talk about it often. We all talk about it. I think there's a lot more pride on the punt team now. All the guys on the punt team really take it seriously and want to be out there. I couldn't be happier with it, I really like that attitude."
TarHeelBlue: Do you have any special thought processes you go through before a kick?
Brian Schmitz: "You know I try not to let too much get into my head when I go out there. On a punt, the most important thing is for me to catch the ball, and after that it's what I've done tens of thousands of times. Hopefully, it'll be a good snap, I'll catch it and drop it right, and my leg will come through and hit it. That's pretty much what I'm expecting."
TarHeelBlue: What's the most important part of a punt?
Brian Schmitz: "The drop. It seems so simple, but it's something you need to work on constantly."
TarHeelBlue: How much do you punt during the summer?
Brian Schmitz: "I punt a lot more during the summer than I do at practice. I usually do two a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I usually would kick about thirty balls in the morning and thirty more in the afternoon. When I went home I kicked at Northwestern. They have a real nice indoor facility there. I drove over there about every day.
"The practice has really paid off. I've come in and had my best preseason yet."
TarHeelBlue: Are you a Cubs fan?
Brian Schmitz: "Yea, I really love the Cubs. My dad shares a sky box with some business people, so I get to go whenever I'm in town. They're a great story. Having never won anything, every year everyone gets fired up, thinking it's going to be their year, but it never is.
"Maybe Sosa can get the home run crown and take over for Jordan in the city."
TarHeelBlue: You played end in addition to kicking in high school?
Brian Schmitz: "Yea, I played split-end and a little safety. Before my senior year I played a little quarterback, too. I always like to say I'm an athlete who happens to be a kicker. I almost don't even like the label of kicker or a punter."
TarHeelBlue: Tell me about the Illinois 5-A State Championship game your senior year.
Brian Schmitz: "I had two touchdowns and kicked the game-winning field goal. I had a 45-yard touchdown reception and a 30-yard touchdown reception, with four catches for over a hundred yards.
"We beat Mt. Carmel, who's the big high school power in Illinois."
TarHeelBlue: Set the scene for your game-winning field goal.
Brian Schmitz: "It was a 28-28 tie, and I had a 58-yard attempt. It was long enough, but wide right, and I got roughed on it. We ran a couple of plays up the middle, then I kicked a 47-yarder to win the State Championship."
TarHeelBlue: Is that your biggest thrill?
Brian Schmitz: "No, I put it in the memory bank and let it sit there. I think coming here I really didn't want to think about it, I wanted to start over here and not come in thinking I'm the man because I did well in high school.
"I think my first kickoff against Clemson my freshman year was very exciting. That was a great moment. The Las Vegas Bowl was a great moment. My whole year last year was so much fun too. It was really a breakthrough year.
"I really didn't think college football was all that much fun until then. The season seemed so much shorter than the previous two years. The stress was so much less. Everything kind of came together."
TarHeelBlue: What's the longest field goal you've ever kicked in practice?
Brian Schmitz: "With the Chicago wind I kicked a 73-yarder. I should have tried one in pre-game in the Las Vegas bowl. That would have been fun."
TarHeelBlue: Do you do anything to psyche yourself up for games?
Brian Schmitz: "I think in my position and Josh's, we need to be as relaxed as possible. You know if that means laughing and cutting up a little bit, I don't want people to take it the wrong way. I'm just at my best when I'm relaxed out there. Going into the games that's how I try to be.
"It'll be hard not to be nervous on that first kick on Saturday, but I'll get that first kick out of the way and go on and see what happens."
TarHeelBlue: You and Josh and Derrick (DePriest) hang together a lot on the sidelines during a game. Is that a kicker's thing?
Brian Schmitz: "Yea, I'm kind of the clown of us three. Those guys are a little bit more serious than me. When we joke around a little it helps each of us out.
"I try to keep an even keel. My dad's always said you're only as good as your last kick. I only play about five plays a game, so I've got to make the most out of each one."
TarHeelBlue: Do you set any individual goals before a season?
Brian Schmitz: "Yea, I make out note cards and stick them above my bed. Last year I achieved most of them, but not all. I was really surprised since I didn't have that much success my first two years.
"This year my three main individual goals are to average 46.7 yards a punt because the school record is 46.6 per punt, to be an All-American, and to play at the next level next year. Those are my three. Those are lofty, but I'm fully expecting to achieve them."
TarHeelBlue: Do you have a favorite between kicking off, place-kicking, or punting?
Brian Schmitz: "Not really. It's fun to kick a 60-yard punt, it's fun to kick it out of the end zone, and it's fun to kick a 52-yard field goal."
TarHeelBlue: Is there anything you would like to tell people about you that they don't know?
Brian Schmitz: "I want to work in Hollywood at some point in my life and try acting. I'm really into the whole Hollywood scene, following actors and actresses and what they do. Not as much the craft of acting, but the social part, the parties, etc. I've been to Hollywood a couple of times and hung out on Rodeo Drive.
"Another thing is my parents have flown to every game, home and away, for my three years here, and they will this year.
"I'm totally looking forward to the Indiana game. I've asked for about sixty tickets. It will be a homecoming of sorts, and I grew up following Big Ten football. I know I can't overlook Virginia, but I'd really like to show Indiana they should have recruited me more.
"But how can I argue with what I have here? The team we have here, the friendships and the facility. I'm so glad they didn't offer me a scholarship. I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.
"A diploma from North Carolina is so valuable. I think it's even more impressive to people from outside North Carolina. When people from up North and the Midwest see North Carolina, they are almost awestruck. I think maybe sometimes people from North Carolina take it for granted."
TarHeelBlue: Are any of your friends coming in for the Virginia game?
Brian Schmitz: "My best friend and my girlfriend, Christine Poulos, and her identical twin sister Allison are going to be at the game, so I'm excited about that. They're coming in on Friday with my parents. I've known Christine for a long time, she's a great girl. I've known her since high school. She goes to Northern Illinois.
"Hopefully, I can make them proud of me on Saturday. Maybe I can show off a little bit."
TarHeelBlue: It sounds like you've got a good relationship with your parents.
Brian Schmitz: "I've got a great relationship with my parents. You know my mom never looks when I kick. In my three years she's never looked. When I run on the field she just looks down. I guess she gets more nervous than I do.
"The Clemson game my freshman year the whole family was here, and my mom started crying because it was such a special time. My brother and my sister come to as many games as they can. My brother's in New York now, and my sister's in Chicago.
"My parents have had a great influence on me. I wish I could do as good a job with my kids when I have them as my parents did with us. They've been wonderful to me."
Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue.com
