Clever Details: Impact Matt Luke can have on Clemson's offensive line

Kirby Smart knows exactly what impact Matt Luke can have on an offensive line.

Luke served as offensive line coach and associate head coach for Smart for two seasons, helping Georgia to the 2021 national title before retiring from playing to spend more time with his family.

After two years away from the sport, Luke decided he was ready for a comeback. He joined Dabo Swinney's team before Clemson pulled off a thrilling comeback win over Kentucky in the Gator Bowl last season. Given the experience the Tigers are regaining on the offensive line in 2024, Smart believes the transition will be smooth.

“They have an incredible offensive line in terms of the experience they have in the starting lineups,” Smart said. “I would have thought our offensive line was one of the most experienced in the country, but theirs has more starting lineups than ours.”

Clemson returns four starters from last season: Blake Miller, Walker Parks and Marcus Tate all played multiple seasons. With that experience, Smart expects the Tigers to be physically strong under Luke's leadership.

“Toughness. He's got an extremely experienced offensive line,” Smart said. “I'd say it's close to 100 starts. Three of the five guys have over 25 or something. That's crazy. It's very rare in college football for someone to have over 25 starts because that means they've stayed, or at least they're going into their third starting season.”

Smart has seen firsthand the impact Luke can have on a program, and he expects it to be no different now that he is the coach at Clemson.

“I know Matt will do a great job,” Smart added. “They're going to play hard and play hard. I'm sure he's going to add some new facets to their offense. He's a really good football coach.”