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Former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning is set to have an emotional game against his former team and mentor Kirby Smart. If a coach knows about the emotions of facing their former mentor in Smart and players he recruited to Georgia, it is Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman.
“It’s hard for him because he doesn’t know his team quite as well maybe even as Georgia’s,” Pittman told the Athens Banner-Herald. “He’s getting to know his team, hasn’t been out there in the battle with them yet, but if it was like me, he’ll have much respect for the players, the coaching staff. Had a lot of friends obviously on Georgia’s staff. He’ll want to do really well, you know? He’s got a good team. There will be some butterflies there.”
Lanning spent 4 seasons with Georgia under Smart with the last 3 being the defensive coordinator. In December, Lanning became the head coach of Oregon after an extensive coaching search.
This Saturday’s matchup between No. 11 Oregon and No. 3 Georgia will be the fourth time that Smart has faced a former assistant. Smart has beaten Pittman’s Arkansas team in 2020 and 2021. Last season, Smart’s Georgia team defeated South Carolina led by former tight end/special teams coach Shane Beamer.
