First Look: Georgia Offensive Line Coach Stacy Searels

How is Georgia adjusting to new offensive line coach Stacy Searels?

Heading into his seventh season in Athens as the head coach Kirby Smart is set to work with the third offensive line coach of his tenure. 

That is not to say that attrition at the coaching position has been a bad thing for Georgia; it's actually on the contrary as former offensive line coach Sam Pittman is now the head coach at Arkansas, while most recently Matt Luke opted to step away from football and spend more time with his family after helping deliver a national title. 

This brings us to new offensive line coach Stacy Searles. Searles brings a wealth of coaching experience with him after spending two years in Chapel Hill as the offensive line coach under Mack Brown, A 30-year coaching veteran; Searels has produced 25 NFL offensive linemen, including 11 NFL Draft picks. 

This is not Searels' first stint between the hedges as he coached the offensive line unit back under Mark Richt from 2008 to 2010 before moving onto the same role at the University of Texas, which also had him coach under then-head coach Mack Brown. 

The track record is there when it comes to putting players in the National Football League (NFL), something Georgia has done at a high rate during Smart's time in Athens. Georgia has seen three offensive linemen go in the first round of the NFL Draft since Smart's first year in Athens. With the recruiting classes staying at a level over the years, having first-round caliber offensive linemen is the standard going forward for Georgia. 

Junior center Sedrick Van Pran spoke with the media on Thursday and gave a little insight into his thoughts on how Searels is compared to former offensive line coach Matt Luke. 

"I think the biggest thing that will be a difference is that Coach Luke in practice was more of a motivator, he definitely wanted to coach and teach technique, but he also wanted to motivate. Coach Searels is more straight to the point and that could be good or bad depending on the player. The biggest thing is to take the message, what did you do wrong, how can you get better, and what's the best thing for the team."

Van Pran opened by stating, "I appreciate everything Coach Luke has done for us. I have tremendous love for Coach Luke and his family, so I appreciate them." Van Pran is one of three returning starters from last season's offensive line unit, and after starting in 15 games at center, his job seems to be among the safest on the team. 

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