Considering how frequently college football coaches take new jobs or get fired, it’s only a matter of time before two former members of the same staff spend a Saturday on opposite sidelines.

This week, it’s Jeremy Pruitt and Kirby Smart’s turn.

The pair will meet for the first time as opposing head coaches when Tennessee travels to Athens to face No. 2 Georgia on Saturday. The two worked closely for six years on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama, with Pruitt serving as a defensive position coach alongside Smart, the team’s defensive coordinator.

Pruitt assumed Smart’s position for two years after his colleague took the Georgia job, and he offered some high praise for Smart ahead of their first clash as head coaches.

“We worked together for six years. Kirby is a really good football coach,” Pruitt said. “He is a very hard worker and focuses on the detail. He is a good coach on the field. He is a good scheme guy, and it’s not just defensively. He is involved in special teams, and he’s involved in offense. You can see all of that in their football program.”

Pruitt knows the Volunteers will have their hands full with Georgia, which opened as a 32.5-point favorite.

But if he can get Tennessee turned around, this year’s matchup between the two former colleagues will likely be the first of many.