Tennessee ties helped mold Ole Miss’ Matt Luke, and he’s very thankful for it

ATLANTA — Matt Luke is Ole Miss to the core. A quick glance at his resume provides plenty of proof of that. However, there are some strong Tennessee ties as well.

As he enters his first season as a full-time, non-interim head coach, Luke must feel as if he has arrived. He’s the head coach at Ole Miss, where he was a walk-on offensive lineman, an offensive line coach and the offensive coordinator.

“Really enjoyed it,” Luke said of having his first full offseason as head coach after replacing Hugh Freeze as an interim coach last fall, “especially with the way we finished last season and the momentum we had going into recruiting, spring practice and this summer. I think the momentum we had at the end of the season really helped.”

Luke’s time at Ole Miss has been plagued by an NCAA investigation, subsequent sanctions, Freeze’s public scandal involving escorts and departure. Nevertheless, Luke was full of smiles last week at SEC Media Days and confident he could get the Rebels on the right track. While many coaches are stoic, if not off-putting, Luke seems to be enjoying the ride. That’s a lesson he learned from one of his most prominent mentors, former Ole Miss coach and current Duke coach David Cutcliffe.

So what was the best advice Cutcliffe gave Luke?

“That’s easy,” Luke said. “It’s ‘Be yourself.’ Don’t try to go out there and act a certain way. Be yourself. That’s what I’ve tried to do this whole time. That’s a huge challenge — with all the pressure and everything — to act a certain way. When you go out there and just be yourself, I think that’s when you’re going to be at your best.”

In fact, Luke might not even be a coach had he not played for Cutcliffe. In Luke’s final season, he played center for Cutcliffe during the Independence Bowl after Cutcliffe left Tennessee following the regular season to take over the Rebels.

“Huge,” Luke said of the influence Cutcliffe had on his career. “Being around coach Cutcliffe. I played my last game for him. He’s the one who talked me into getting into this profession. Being around him for 11 years, he’s a huge part of my foundation.”

Said Cutcliffe, “Without question, Matt Luke possesses two of the most important traits a coach can have: passion and leadership. He’s passionate about the game of football and the positive impact it can have on young men. He cares so much about the men in his program and their well-being both on and off the field and he’s so genuine about it.

“He’s a natural leader. We found that out right away when preparing for the bowl game in 1998. Matt was a senior captain and here comes a new head coach and staff to coach his final game. He didn’t waver. Instead he was all-in to assist us in getting ready for a really good Texas Tech team. We knew right away that his leadership ability was something special.”

Cutcliffe, who coached for the Vols from 1982-1998 before taking the Ole Miss job, isn’t the only Vol to influence Luke’s career. Cutcliffe returned to Knoxville in 2006 and spent two more years as the Vols offensive coordinator under Phillip Fulmer. Luke joined the staff as the recruiting coordinator, tight ends coach and assisted on the offensive line while at Tennessee under the watchful eye of Fulmer.

“Just being around him for two years in ’06 and ’07, I learned a lot,” Luke said. “Being a new head coach, I think you pull the best from everybody you’re around. I certainly learned a lot from coach Fulmer being a former offensive lineman and an offensive line coach and coming through the ranks at your alma mater, so there were some similarities there. He was a good sounding board for me.”

Fulmer and Luke have plenty in common. Both became head coaches at their alma mater after playing on the offensive line and coaching at their respective schools. They even both had the “interim” tag before being named head coaches.

“I think Matt is a heckuva coach and a heckuva person,” Fulmer said. “He’s going to do just fine. He’s a great worker, an excellent recruiter. I’m really proud of him and proud for him. I think we’re very similar … I think he’ll do great.”

Luke and his team certainly played great toward the end of last season, even after losing starting quarterback Shea Patterson. The Rebels won their last four games, which included SEC wins over Kentucky, Texas A&M and Mississippi State. That finish should only make Luke even more at ease in being himself.

“I think you get a little bit of comfort in the fact that you had some success being yourself,” Luke said. “You don’t have to try to act like somebody else. You can do it. I think that’s what the players want. I think that’s what the fans want.

“I think that’s refreshing to see somebody be themselves and not act a certain way.”

Dave Hooker

Dave Hooker started covering Tennessee in 1998. He hosts an SEC radio show out of Chattanooga and covers the SEC for Saturday Down South.