georgia football matt luke sam pittman

All week, Kirby Smart and Georgia players have tried to downplay any comparisons between Sam Pittman and Matt Luke. The former is returning to Athens with a top-10 team after serving as the beloved offensive line coach for four seasons.

The latter is in his second season and still trying to put together an offensive line as good as the ones Pittman built in his time in Athens.

“They both, number one, are incredible people. They are incredible men,” Smart said. “They have a strong belief in family. They are everything that epitomizes what you want in an assistant coach/offensive line coach because they care about the team more than themselves. They sell that to their players, and they are both great recruiters.”

Offensive linemen like Justin Shaffer and Warren McClendon both parrot Smart. The two were both recruited by Pittman and have since emerged as starters under Luke.

Players praise the passion Luke and Pittman both coach with, but that sometimes manfests itself in different ways.

“I will always be grateful to Coach Pittman. I would not be here today if it was not for him,” Shaffer said. “He taught me a lot to get me where I am today. At the end of the day, he is still a good person, and he still has a spot in my heart.”

Pittman left Georgia to become the Arkansas head coach following the 2019 season. The former Georgia assistant loved his time in Athens and has said the Arkansas job is the only one that he would’ve left Athens for. Pittman had previously coached at Arkansas from 2013-15 and grew in Grove, Oklahoma, which is near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border.

Once Smart became the head coach at Georgia, he pretty quickly targeted Pittman to become his offensive line coach. After Pittman left, Smart moved at a similar pace to hire Luke.

Luke understands what it’s like to coach at a place you have a special connection with. He spent over a decade in a variety of coaching roles at his alma mater Ole Miss, including three seasons as the head coach.

“The emotion and how passionate he was in the way believed really stood out,” linebacker Nakobe Dean said, who was recruited by Luke during the 2019 recruiting cycle. “He’s the same way now. As a coach, he’s very passionate with the o-line.”

The Rebels went 15-21 in that time, though Luke spent much of his time cleaning up after Hugh Freeze. Following a loss to in-state rival Mississippi State, Luke was fired. He was ultimately replaced by Lane Kiffin.

Not even two days after Pittman had left for Arkansas, Georgia brought in Luke to run the offensive line, while also giving him the title of associate head coach.

Luke’s experiences at Ole Miss though haven’t dimmed his outlook on coaching. While he might not be as jovial as Pittman, players note the enthusiasm and passion he brings to the offensive line room. Luke is 15 years younger than Pittman and McClendon noted he moves around better at practice than Pittman.

Pittman earned lofty praise for the job he did in building the Georgia offensive line into one of the more consistent units in the sport. He thrived as a recruiter and won many big battles for Georgia.

“He gives everything to his players and I just wanted to be a part of it,” McClendon said as to why he picked Georgia.

Luke for the most part has done the same. In Luke’s first two recruiting classes, Georgia signed six offensive linemen who ranked among the top-100 overall prospects of their recruiting class. Pittman may have laid the groundwork for many of those battles, but it was Luke who closed them out and earned the signatures.

In what was Pittman’s final game as Georgia’s offensive line coach, the Bulldogs started Andrew Thomas, Solomon Kindley, Trey Hill, Ben Cleveland and Isaiah Wilson. All five of those players have since been drafted into the NFL. That kind of talent drain explains why Luke hasn’t yet produce and offensive line as good as the ones Pittman built in his time in Athens.

Shaffer, McClendon and Jamaree Salyer have all developed into promising pieces under Luke, with Salyer in particular earning strong praise as one of the best tackles in the SEC. Meanwhile many of the players Luke signed have yet to break into the starting lineup. Only Sedrick Van Pran, a 2020 signee, has started multiple games for Georgia this season, while Tate Ratledge was lost for the season on Georgia’s opening drive against Clemson.

Perhaps that’s why Smart and others are quick to quell those comparisons between Luke and Pittman. The latter was given time to build up Georgia in trenches. Pittman didn’t have to do much to get the offensive line up to and above the standard that was present at the end of the Mark Richt era.

Even if Pittman hadn’t left for the Arkansas job, the Georgia offensive line was always going to take a stepback in 2020 and 2021.

In time, Luke could very well build an offensive line that features five future NFL draft picks. He just needs the time.

Luke doesn’t have the same outward personality that Pittman posses. There aren’t “yessir” videos after the Bulldogs land a commitment. Pittman’s positivity is what makes him a unique presence in college football.

It’s probably why he’s succecceding at Arkansas right now.

“He was always good for me to be around leading up the games,” Smart said. “If you’re worried about something, Sam always had a great spin and a great vibe on it and he was great for our staff, you know, staff morale and he’s just a phenomenal person.”

Luke still brings a lot of positive things to the table for Georgia. The Bulldogs have become one of the better pass-blocking units in 2021 even while having to adapt to their personnel.

At the end of the day, Smart and Georgia invested heavily in Pittman and Luke. The results were there under Pittman. There’s a strong belief they will show up too for Luke.

“In my opinion, they are both the same. They come in and teach us how we are supposed to be taught,” Shaffer said. “They get the job done. They prepare us for each and every game just the same.”

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