Sept. 23, 2002
by Stephanie Peterson * Host Communications
Tight end coach John Schlarman knows that nothing compares to the feeling oftaking the field at Commonwealth Stadium, fans screaming, heart thumping. Heknows because he’s been there – not only as a coach, but as a player.
Schlarman’s history with the Cats began in 1994 when he joined the team as amember of the offensive line and racked up several titles, among them UK’sMost Outstanding Lineman in both 1995 and ’96 along with first-teamAll-Southeastern Conference honors in ’97. Being a former player at UK isnot only what makes this coaching position so special to Schlarman, but hebelieves it’s what has helped him become an asset as a coach.
“It’s always your dream to coach where you played,” Schlarman said. “AndKentucky, being an SEC school, just makes it all that much better.”
This is Schlarman’s third year as a graduate assistant at Kentucky. Duringthe past two, he assisted mainly with the offensive line, using his pastexperiences as a player to help improve the current team. This year he willfocus mainly on developing the tight ends and building depth for the Wildcatsquad.
“We’ve always had good starters but not a lot of depth if one of them were toget hurt,” he said. “It’s always a work in progress but I think this staffhas done a good job of recruiting and establishing a strong walk-on program.That’s just something we’ll have to continue to do. We’re trying to buildthe depth we didn’t have in the past.”
Being a part of the ‘business’ process is only a small portion of the job forSchlarman. He is focused mainly with what happens on the field.
“I just want the guys out here every day working hard and focusing on the jobthat needs to be done,” he said. “We run drills with specific blockingtechniques and for specific plays we want to use, just drilling that overand over and over again. We’re on the apparatuses and working onfundamentals – keep your pads low, your wide base, your head out so you canuse your hands – things that are crucial in football.”
He trains with three key tight ends – senior starter Chase Harp, freshmanJeremiah Drobney and junior Win Gaffron. He hopes that they take away withthem not only football skills, but life skills as well.
Schlarman says there is a lot to gain from the experience of playing footballfor a Division I school like Kentucky – confidence, physical and mentalstamina and how to cope with the day-to-day blocks in life. But whatSchlarman hopes he’s taught these guys is a strong work ethic.
“I want these guys to always go out and know that they couldn’t have givenany more,” he said. “It’s all or nothing, not just in football but in everyaspect. I want them always to say ‘I gave 110 percent today.’ I mainly tryand instill a hard work ethic into them. They need to know that you need tocome prepared and ready to work in all of life’s situations.”
Schlarman believes the players often take cues from the coaches they workunder, so he and the rest of the coaching staff make sure to give it theirall every day as well.
“He makes us want to work hard,” said Harp. “He was an offensive lineman sohe knows a lot about what we’re going through. I’ve become a lot better atblocking because he makes sure we have the fundamentals right and we runthings again and again so every detail is right. He’s been where we’ve beenso you have to respect that a lot.”
The respect is mutual and is part of what has turned Kentucky’s programaround early this season.
“I think it’s showing that we, as coaches, are out there every day, having agood time and just loving the game. The players see that and they have funand want to work hard because they know we’re putting in the time too.Overall we become a better team as a whole.”
Schlarman also recognizes and appreciates the advances the UK team has madeall around since he played here.
During his senior year at UK, he played under now head coach Guy Morriss.Schlarman has become an easy fit with the rest of the coaching staff,learning from their combined National Football League and previous coachingexperiences, all while adding his own mark to the mix.
“I would like to see this program in a bowl game every year, winning six,seven, eight games in the season,” he said. “With the experience we have,there’s no reason we can’t.”
Before returning to UK, Schlarman developed his coaching technique during atwo-year stint on the staff at Bourbon County High School, where he workedprimarily with the defensive line. Now in his final year of earning amaster’s degree in sports management, it is easy to see that Schlarman has apure love for the game and athletics as a whole.
“I’ve always loved sports,” Schlarman said. “I want to coach but if itdoesn’t work out, managing some kind of sports team or doing sportsmarketing would be interesting.”
But even though his future is slightly up in the air, Schlarman is looking atthe present – and enjoying his time at Kentucky.
“As a grad assistant you have to pay your dues,” he comments. “It’s not veryoften you get hired into a full-time position, especially in a conferencelike the SEC. I’m learning a lot here and I’m just thankful the opportunitypresented itself.”
