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How Matt Luke's Departure Impacts Georgia's Chances with Arch Manning

Former Georgia offensive line coach Matt Luke had deep ties to the Manning family and was playing a key role in the recruitment of Arch Manning. How does his departure impact things?
Brooks Austin|
How Matt Luke's Departure Impacts Georgia's Chances with Arch Manning
How Matt Luke's Departure Impacts Georgia's Chances with Arch Manning

Georgia fans were taken a bit back by the sudden retirement of offensive line coach Matt Luke. A personal decision, Luke has stepped away from the college coaching scene to spend more time with his family. 

“Today, after much prayer and conversation with my family, I have decided to step away from coaching and shift my focus to spending more time with my family,” said Luke. “I want to thank Coach Smart, his wife Mary Beth, and the entire Georgia family for an incredible past two seasons. I also appreciate Coach Smart's support in my decision today. He's a great coach, and I'll always cherish his friendship. It has been an honor of a lifetime to be able to win a national championship with this staff and these players, and something I will never forget."

The former Ole Miss football player turned offensive line coach, turned head coach for the SEC West program obviously has plenty of ties to the Ole Miss program. Those ties include a relationship with the Manning family — of which the youngest, Arch, is the No. 1 quarterback in the 2023 class. 

It's a recruitment that has nothing but heavy hitters from Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, and Florida that was being impacted on the Bulldogs' end by Matt Luke's relationship forged in Oxford. 

So, with Luke now stepping down, one would assume that Georgia's chances of landing the coveted signal-caller have been impacted negatively with the latest round of news. 

Georgia's recruitment strategy, one that included Kirby Smart, Todd Monken, Matt Luke, and Buster Faulkner is now one less strong. That being said, Georgia had plenty of momentum here prior to Luke's departure. 

Texas has seen it's fair of success here with the admiration for Steve Sarkisian's system with the Longhorns. Clemson was recently removed from the equation according to 247's Steve Witflong. Alabama will always be involved in recruitments like this, but it's been quiet for the most part on that front. Reports have surfaced that there are "two leading teams" and one clear-cut favorite, though that was prior to Matt Luke's retirement. 

Considering the attention and suspense surrounding Arch Manning's recruitment, the information surrounding it has been few and far between. Which is likely due to the family having handled half a century worth of media attention-worthy athletes. This only proves how vital relationships are, especially ones like Luke's that dated back decades. 

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Brooks Austin
BROOKS AUSTIN

Brooks Austin is a former college football player turned journalist and broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter @BrooksAustinBA

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