BULLDOGS-EXTRA

Two O-line starters from national championship team surprised by Matt Luke stepping down

Marc Weiszer
Athens Banner-Herald
Georgia associate head coach and offensive line coach Matt Luke during warm-ups before the start of the Georgia G-Day Spring football game in Athens, Ga., On Saturday, April 17, 2021. (Photo/Joshua L. Jones, Athens Banner-Herald)

INDIANAPOLIS—Matt Luke provided a shoulder for Justin Shaffer to lean on when the offensive guard was distraught after Georgia suffered its first loss of the season to Alabama in the SEC championship game.

Shaffer and the Bulldogs responded with a pair of wins in the College Football Playoff to win the national title in January.

It was just the way Shaffer wanted his college career to end and it turned out to be Luke’s last game at Georgia as well.

The former Ole Miss coach stepped down from his position as Bulldogs offensive line coach on Feb. 21.

The news caught Shaffer off guard.

He reached out to center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger and tried to get up a group chat with his former teammates when he saw the news on Twitter.

“’Why did he leave? What’s going on?’” Shaffer said he asked. “They were in (workouts) at the time. I didn’t get a chance to get back in contact with them.”

Shaffer and former Bulldogs offensive tackle Jamaree Salyer spoke this week from the NFL combine.

Their former teammates—including starting tackle Warren McClendon, guard Warren Ericson and left tackle Broderick Jones—have a new offensive line coach in Stacy Searels who was hired from North Carolina for a second stint at Georgia.

Salyer and Shaffer were recruited by the popular Sam Pittman who left at the end of the 2019 season for the Arkansas head coaching job.

More:How Georgia football produced more NFL combine invitees than any other school this year

Luke was quickly hired to coach in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor and the former Ole Miss head coach spent the last two seasons at Georgia.

He resigned, citing wanting to spend more time with family—his wife and their two sons.

“Honestly, I was very surprised,” Salyer said. “I just know his passion for the game. If you’ve been around him, you know he’s still got that fire. When a coach steps away from the game, a lot of times you can see it coming. You can see him kind of fizzling out or maybe not so energetic every single day. Coach Luke was energetic every single day. Had a spark every single day.”

More:Return trip to Indianapolis brings back those national championship feelings for Bulldogs

That translated to the players, Salyer and Shaffer said.

“Kind of gave us a spark to go practice, go work hard every single game, every single day,” Salyer said. “It was kind of surprising for me, but I respect his decision. It makes sense for me. He’s very much a family man so I can see if from that perspective as well.”

Added Shaffer: “Coach Luke meant a lot, just his coaching style how he coached. He always coached with great energy. He was like me, really loved the game. He was going to coach you hard.”