There are not a lot of current offensive linemen at Georgia who weren’t impacted in some way by Eddie Gordon, now in his first year as the offensive line coach at UAB.

Saturday night at Sanford Stadium (7:30 p.m., ESPN2), the former Bulldog staffer will be reunited with his former pupils for the first time. Although Gordon understands the challenge that awaits his new team, he cannot wait to see some old faces.

“It’s going to be good for sure. A lot of those guys I was pretty close to and their families. We spent a lot of time together. Me and Micah Morris played a lot of 2K during the Covid year, so it’s going to be cool to give him a hug and tell him how proud I am of him,” Gordon said in a telephone interview with UGASports. “Those guys took a big step this spring and offseason. Dylan Fairchild is another guy who’s starting to emerge and how they’ve grown, even though I haven’t been there, but I’ve been very pleased to see some of those guys on tape.”

The feeling is mutual.

During a four-year tenure in Athens, Gordon held a number of roles for head coach Kirby Smart. Along with running the scout team offense, he also played an integral role in recruiting and even dabbled in assisting on special teams.

“He was awesome,” Fairchild said. “He motivated me every day down there on the scout team. He was an amazing coach.”

Defensive lineman Zion Logue agreed.

“A lot of the team had a lot of respect for Coach Gordon. He did a lot for us, and a lot for me just getting me ready for those scout looks the past few years,” Logue said. “I tip my hat to him. I lit up a little bit when I found out we were playing them. I’m just glad he’s prospering and doing a great job. They’ll be ready. I can hear him now, 'Let’s go, let’s go!’ in that little high-pitched voice. I can hear him now."

Smart said Gordon's approach to coaching was always exactly what he wanted to see.

"He had a personality about him. He never backed down from coaching players hard, and I respect that in a coach because he didn't try to be their friend. He coached them hard, and he recruited them hard," Smart said. "You see it in the way that his O-line plays. I know they are going to be wound up for this one because I know that Eddie wants his kids to play well."

Gordon said there was no shortage of great teachers to hone his craft.

Along with working for Smart, Gordon’s four years in Athens afforded the opportunity to sit under the learning tree of Sam Pittman, Matt Luke, and Stacy Searels.

“I was absolutely spoiled. I was a product of Sam Pittman, Stacey Searels, and Matt Luke. Those were three really, really, really good offensive line coaches, recruiting, teaching, on the field, they were all really good at their jobs and for me to be around all three of those guys for four years,” Gordon said. “Not only were they really good coaches, but they were really good people. I never had a bad day going to work.”

Smart said Gordon also left an impact on him.

“I have a lot of respect for Eddie. Of the people that we have had in the organization that have left - someone told me it was 24 guys that had come here and worked in some capacity and moved on to another on-the-field role or a role higher than when they were here - he was a guy that was loyal," Smart said. "He worked hard. He recruited a lot of good players here."

Gordon said he’s not surprised the numbers quoted by Smart are what it is.

Per Gordon, Smart grooms young coaches to go out into the field in the “thousands of ways” he challenges them to be full-time coaches at other schools.

The opportunity to run the Bulldogs’ scout team offense was one of Gordon’s responsibilities.

“But I just didn’t run the scout offense, I had to meet with them. At the end of practice, I would go and sit with the defense. I was the OL GA on offense, then sit in defensive meetings after every practice,” Gordon said. “I got better in a number of ways running the room. A lot of times, people are hesitant to hire young coaches because they don’t have the experience running the room. But I would argue, I ran the room every day just like all the other ones. That was one way Coach Smart really groomed me.”

Having Gordon play a key role in recruiting was another.

Although on-field assistants are the only staff members allowed to visit schools, Gordon was able to help in other ways.

“He puts a lot of stress on the young guys, hey your value is going to be in recruiting, so get out there, make phone calls. He put us on the road to go to camps in the summertime,” Gordon said. “I wasn’t on the road, but I went to camps and saw guys, and evaluated guys. So, there were a lot of ways Coach Smart grooms young coaches so it’s not a surprise to hear that number (24) is that high.”

Gordon’s duties in Athens did not end there.

In his final year in Athens, Gordon was given even more responsibility by being involved in coaching up and game-planning Georgia’s red zone runs.

Where some may see handling so many tasks as pressure, Gordon never did.

“Pressure is not a great word, it’s an opportunity to grow, because anytime he’d (Smart) give you a task, you figured out a way to do it, you did it, you learned,” Gordon said. “I never played special teams in my life. But in my first year at Georgia, I helped run the scout special teams. I didn’t know anything about special teams, but now, four years later, I know some base stuff that I didn’t know when I walked through the doors at Georgia as a coach. A couple of times, you betcha there was pressure, but looking back at it I’m so glad I had a chance to go there and learn.”