Georgia coach Kirby Smart will face his former offensive line coach Sam Pittman when the two meet in Arkansas on Saturday. As he previewed the matchup, along with other former assistants on his Georgia staff, Smart shared what made Pittman head coaching material.

“He always had the traits of a head coach, No. 1 he’s a great leader, he’s a great person,” Smart said at a Monday press conference. “He commands the respect of a room when he speaks. He’s very, he can be very emotional, and you don’t always find that with offensive line coaches. They’re usually rough around the edges, and Sam wears his feelings on his sleeve.”

Smart added that Pittman lets his players in more than most offensive line coaches do, and that was revealed when he left Georgia to become the head coach at Arkansas.

“That relationship really stands,” Smart said. “… When he got the opportunity to go, a lot of our guys reached out. They were hurt by it, but not hurt like they were hurt by Sam. They were thankful for that opportunity, but they were going to miss that relationship.”

Smart also said that Pittman created a family atmosphere and his offensive linemen enjoyed playing for him.

“He and Jamie didn’t have kids of their own, but all the O-linemen were their kids,” Smart said. “Always have been. That came to fruition to me when we hired him from Arkansas. Because you hear every offensive lineman he coached there, he had a real special relationship with, and they tried to keep him there and we were lucky to get him and he certainly contributed to our success.”