Sam Pittman’s departure from Athens was a big blow to Kirby Smart’s program at the time but Georgia’s coach immediately turned the page following his assistant’s exit to take over the Arkansas program and hired an experienced SEC offensive coach and recruiter in Matt Luke.

How long did it take Dawg Nation to buy into Georgia’s new assistant?

They were in on Luke before his first game with Georgia was over.

With starting tackles Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson missing the game after deciding to declare early for the 2020 NFL Draft and Ben Cleveland academically ineligible for the game, Georgia’s patchwork line faced a tough challenge of preparing for one of the best defensive lines in the Big 12, featuring conference Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year James Lynch at defensive end.

Despite a few hiccups, Georgia gave up three sacks in the game, Luke’s offensive line paved the way for 130 rushing yards in Georgia’s 26-14 win over Baylor.

Outside of his unit’s strong performance, Luke’s intensity and energy on the sideline have Dawg Nation fired up about the future of the program’s promising offensive line.

As you can see below, Luke was a big hit in his debut on the Georgia sideline during the Sugar Bowl:

https://twitter.com/dayneyoung/status/1212777122483163136?s=20

https://twitter.com/CreekHouseEntt/status/1212766695972052992?s=20

Even ESPN’s Holly Rowe was impressed with Georgia’s new assistant: