"I think they're hungry," Matt Luke is ready to get to work with Clemson's offensive line

Matt Luke is one of the premier offensive line coaches in the business and he's excited to get started at Clemson.

Matt Luke sat down with the media for the first time since taking over as Clemson's new offensive line coach. After taking a couple of years off following winning a national championship with Georgia, Luke saw Clemson as a perfect fit.

Luke, an Ole Miss grad, cut his teeth in the SEC with both Ole Miss and Georgia and has developed an elite reputation in the college football ranks. There aren't many people who know more about developing lines than him.

Matt Luke helped lead Georgia to a national championship in 2021 / Clemson Athletics

"I think I've always been just a guy, you know, we're gonna be an o-line that's connected. And we're gonna play together, and I'm an emotional person. So we're gonna play with emotion and play with toughness. This game is meant to be played a certain way and we're gonna demand that we play that way." said Luke.

It can be tough to come in and replace a coach who's been let go, especially at the tail end of a season that saw the team rally the way this Clemson team has, but Luke's presence and track record should excite the offensive line room. 

"I think they're hungry," continued Luke. "I think they want to learn, they want to get better. And you know, I can't ask them to bring energy if I don't bring the energy, and I think the o-line has always been a special group just because they all stick together and they're all hungry, they want to get better. And we're kind of the only group out there that doesn't have a stat like our stat is the scoreboard and so I'm just excited to get to work and again, we got a long way to go but we're gonna stay together and we're gonna put the work in and we kind of get a bonus time, working up to this bowl game that we kind of get some extra practices to get to know each other."

Luke does face a unique test. He'll have to implement his coaching style and direction while learning about his players, all the while preparing for a December 29th matchup against Kentucky.

"It's been a fast start trying to learn the plays and learn the guys, you know, Dabo put the names on their helmets for me. So at least he helped me out right there. But it's been a great start. And the bowl game gives me a jumpstart. The only way you build relationships is just to go out there on the grass and work together. And we've got a long way to go. But I told him that after practice, we do have a long way to go, but we're going to do it together. And I think as long as we stick together, we play really, really hard, play the game the way it's supposed to be played, we'll be fine."