Carlo Kemp On Leadership, His Waiver, Summer Workouts, Team Goals, More
Michigan fifth-year senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp joined former U-M great Jon Jansen on his In The Trenches podcast recently, and hit on many topics surrounding the Wolverines, summer workouts, the possibilities of a season, individual and team goals and much more.
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On how hard it was to leave family and head back to Ann Arbor this summer
"It was a real bittersweet feeling, just because you’re leaving your family. But there’s something good when you step off that plane. You get back to Ann Arbor, and that’s all your brothers, all your teammates, getting back to work, getting back to the grind and starting to work towards all the goals that we have for ourselves as a team.
"When we’re doing our meetings and Coach [Harbaugh] is like, ‘Guys this is the date that we hope to come back,’ it’s really bittersweet because you obviously enjoyed the time with your family, but I missed my guys, being around all my teammates. These are the guys you spend every single day with. You wake up, you’re working out, you’re training, then you get extra work, you eat all your meals together and by that time at the end of the night it’s time to go to bed, and you do the same thing every day. It was definitely a bittersweet moment."
On what it's been like being back in the building, working out with teammates
"It was a great feeling; it was awesome, and you just felt great getting going. It felt good to go back and walk into Schembechler Hall and get back to that routine. All of our days are … everything follows that routine, getting back into that flow and that rhythm.
"Being able to see everybody come back, it felt so good. To see everybody back in that locker room … even though it might look a little bit different and our workouts are a little bit different, you might not get to see everybody on the team as much as you used to, the guys that you do see and the time that you do get, people really value it."
On how the returning captain had to get creative while leading the Wolverines during this unique offseason
"Just because I’m so used to being able to do things in person, talk to people, face-to-face … Me growing up, everything I love to do is face-to-face, see the person, be with the person, so when we had to return home back in March, that changed a lot, because now I was doing a lot more … we were having Zoom meetings, speaking when it was time to speak and motivating and influencing the people that I needed to influence. And it was a lot more over text, individual phone calls if it came to that, but you had to change it a lot. So I did a lot more texting, a lot more big texts, big group messages. I mean, I created so many group chats on my phone that I don’t know if it can handle anymore."
On the challenge of having to tell a teammate how something needs to be done, but not being able to actually show them how to do it
"That’s just tough, and I had to do a lot of talking about, ‘How does this impact us as a whole, as a team? How does this help us, or how does this action hurt us towards what we’re trying to build here?’ We’re trying to build on success. We’re trying to get to those points individually, but more importantly, as a team. Is this helping us be more effective as a team? Is this hurting us? And I love giving examples, especially to some of the younger guys, on what it was like my freshman year and explain some of my experiences, and I like to refer back to some of the leaders we had when I was a freshman. That 2016 team was a team that was built of seniors and fifth-year guys that took care of their business, and they all came together with one goal. And I think that’s why that team that year was so special, and I think that’s one that we always can think about, refer to … older guys that were in it for each other, they did everything right and that reflected in their play and it shows why everybody on that team got to continue on playing football."
On how the team is continuing to stay safe and make sure they don't contract the coronavirus
"Right now as a team, we’re doing such a great job of taking care of the business that is much bigger than just us right now. I think myself, maybe we’re taking it a little too seriously, just because we workout and then we kind of just go home.
"I’m so used to after a workout, going out and hanging with everybody, hanging out with the d-line; especially in the summertime, I love to do cookouts, burgers and hot dogs and everything, but we work out and we all go home. We just live with who we live with, and we see each other in the morning the next day, which is great, and that’s what really matters — our fight to help contain the spread of COVID.
"But going forward as students return and businesses and restaurants continue to open, it’s just going back to the things that we’re really harping on as a team — for us to play and for college football to continue to happen this year we just have to be smart. And the things that we’re doing right now are really good.
"Guys are working out, we’re wearing our masks, we’re checking in, we’re being honest with how we’re feeling, just because it’s a lot bigger than just your health right now. You can’t be like, ‘You know, I’m kind of feeling sick. I kind of have a fever or any of those other symptoms,’ and continue to work out because you put your whole workout group in danger and whoever they might be seeing later on in the day. It’s going to be building off what we’re doing now. I think we have a great foundation, to continue those things going forward and really help people realize that, OK, it might be not what you want for the first year, but it’s all about football, and that’s why we’re here — we’re here for each other and we’re here to play football. You’ve got to take care of not only yourself, but everybody else on the team."
On if he's sick of hearing about the possibility of not having a season, and what his mindset is while considering that possibility
"I mean, it’s hard to escape. It’s on the T.V., it’s on your phone, it’s on social media, everybody has their opinion — ‘It’s not happening. There’s no way there’s going to be football, trust me.’
"The biggest thing I’ve been doing is day by day, because that’s all I can do. I don’t control what’s going to happen. None of us here on the team control what’s going to happen. I’ve been telling some of the guys, ‘Day by day. Don’t listen to any of that stuff, ‘cause a lot of those people that are saying there is or isn’t going to be football, they aren’t in those meetings, they aren’t discussing it.
"We’re just thankful that today we got to workout, we got to be with each other and we’ll see what tomorrow holds. That’s been the best approach for us going forward."
On his waiver to receive a fifth year of college football
"This goes back to my freshman year of just trying to get that year back for not being able to continue to play. I got to really thank Coach [Jim] Harbaugh and [associate athletic director] Sean McGee, especially, for just helping me to get this fifth year, ‘cause it was something I really wanted; I really wanted to have this fifth-year option, to be able to come back and get one more year of eligibility and just continue to play with all my brothers that I’ve been with here over the years and continue to strive for the goals that we have.
"Coming down to the end of the season, it was definitely something I was thinking about because you know that process takes a little while, or it can. There’s really no deadline to when they can approve you, but Sean McGee and Coach Harbaugh really helped in expediting that and getting them to give me an answer before any other critical decisions had to be made."
His thoughts on the defensive line group
'I see a bunch of great guys, great people that just … this is one of the first years that I’ve been here that — especially on the d-line — we have guys that all got to play last year being able to come back and do that again. That was something that we had in 2017 with Rashan [Gary] and Chase [Winovich], and they got to do the same thing back and have really big years the 2018 year. That’s what’s exciting me, is being able to play once again with [junior end] Aidan [Hutchinson] and [senior end] Kwity [Paye], guys that have played for one or two years before, and come back to do it again.
"You’ve got people like [sophomore tackle] Chris [Hinton], who played as a freshman on the d-line, now coming in to step in for his sophomore season, being able to build off the experience that he had.
"[Redshirt freshman tackle] Mazi Smith, working all summer, all spring, to get to the point where he is now. He played a little bit last year.
"[Redshirt junior tackle] Donovan Jeter still developing and the guy is just so massive. Get him angry and Donovan is unstoppable.
"Being able to see [redshirt junior end] Luiji [Vilain] come back from two horrible injuries in his knees to the point that he’s at. And [redshirt freshman end] David Ojabo coming up now, and we all know his athletic ability.
"We’ve still got so many players — we’ve got [redshirt freshman end] Gabe [Newberg], we’ve got [redshirt junior tackle] Jess [Speight], who played the entire Alabama game, [redshirt freshman end] Mike Morris.
"I can’t even speak about how many guys that we have on this defensive line that are ready to play, that are hungry, but they want to play and they take this stuff seriously — they do the workouts, they do the extra work, but the biggest difference with a lot of these guys is they’re in the classroom, because we have a lot of plays that we have to learn and different responsibilities. These guys take care of their business, and that’s what’s so awesome to see."
On what the biggest difference is for a defensive lineman in his second year as opposed to as a freshman
"I know where I was when I came in physically between year one and year two, that first year, you just get beat up. You play with guys, and for me it was playing with guys that were 21, 22 years old and practicing against those guys. That builds that development of, OK that’s that mental toughness part and being able to see how much you can take. Can you keep getting up over and over again?
"The biggest difference was being able to put on that size and that mass with another year of spring workouts and hitting it really hard in the summer, just being able to feel, OK, this is what I’m good at, this is where I was last year. OK, maybe I wasn’t strong enough or didn’t weigh enough, but now being able to get two full workout and lifting sessions in to be able to get your weight up, because on that d-line, you got to be able to hold your ground when you’re going against those big o-linemen."
On what it's like playing for defensive line coach Shaun Nua
"I’m so thankful for Coach Nua and him being able to come in here and be our coach. And it really is just a blessing that the guy that we get to come in is Coach Nua. We couldn’t have asked for a better coach, and I couldn’t have asked for a better coach to have. But just beyond being a coach, [he’s] just a great human. I’m always talking to him, and just being able to have conversations is the best.
"But, don’t mistake his every day — in the meeting room, you see him around town — don’t mistake that for what Coach can do. That soft, gentle voice can go up very quickly, and that’s when you get it. You do your best to stay away from that side and never be able to hear that side."
On his individual goals for the season
"Individually, I just want to be the best teammate and the best leader that I can for everybody around me. That’s always my biggest thing. I just want to bring everybody along and be able to help make my teammates as successful as possible.
"I mean, one of the things I think about all the time or the things that really upset me is me not doing something that I should’ve been doing that costed somebody else, that costed someone a tackle, somebody had to change assignments — and trying to eliminate those going forward.
"Just being the best leader and keeping everybody in the game is one of the biggest things that I’ve looked back at from last year and really think critical on myself of, ‘OK, could I have done this better? Why did I do this? Why did people not respond how I wanted them to?’ And really looking at those moments and trying to make sure those moments don’t happen again going forward."
On what the team's goals are for this upcoming season
"If there is football this season, I think they’ve already said that it will only be Big Ten. That fits in right with everything we want to do anyway. We want to win the Big Ten, and being able to play only teams that are in the Big Ten, that’s the only way to do it. To win the Big Ten, you gotta beat everyone in the Big Ten to do it. That fits right in line with what our goals are this year. We want to be able to compete at a high level and be in the Big Ten Championship."
On where he is physically at this time this year — considering the unique offseason training circumstances — compared to a year ago
"That was definitely something I was worried about when I was at home, just because gyms were closed, and I don’t have equipment. The only thing I have at my house is one pair of rusty, old dumbbells.
"But my brother and I, one thing that we did the entire time, this was the utility we needed for every workout — we had a backpack, bricks and cinder blocks that were in our backyard. We would fill up the backpack with as many bricks as we needed, and then we used the cinder blocks if we needed extra. The backpack and the bricks were our squats, our curls, our shrugs, our bench. That’s what we used.
"Obviously, you won’t be getting the same amount of anything that you would have if you’re out here working out in Schem and you have all the equipment imaginable. But coming back, I definitely thought I was in a good place from where I thought I would be, just because I think when I was home, I was working out maybe even more because I didn’t have enough equipment.
"Our workouts since we’ve been getting back, they’ve been hitting us hard. We’ve been going at it two hours a day, six days a week, trying to get back some of that time that we lost. I think a lot of us feel we’re in a really good spot from the way [head strength and conditioning coach] Coach Herb has designed this program where we’re hitting it hard and we’re running hard. I think a lot of people feel like they’re in a really good place, and I think a lot feel they’re in a better place than they were last year, and personally I think I’m in a great spot with everything that was going on."
On how this offseason has given him perspective
"Yes, I mean it just shows you how fast and at any moment anything can change. One day we were out here, we were about to get ready for our spring ball practice, and then all of the sudden, not only was that day canceled but our whole spring ball was canceled. And then, school was canceled and now you’re on a flight going home.
"You don’t really know what’s going to happen next. You don’t know when we’re going to go back. Are they shutting down places to eat? What’s open?
"It just shows you how fast something can change or something could be taken from you, and I think a lot of us might still feel that way just because, what’s going to happen next? Is there a season? What am I going to have to do for future plans?
"But along with anything can change at a moment’s glance, I think it just shows you how a lot of us all can come together and be able to work towards one common goal, and that’s just health, safety, and when we all do that, we can all fight collectively — whatever it is — and be really effective at it."
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