Center Sedrick Van Pran admits took a little bit of time for he and his teammates on the offensive line to get used to Stacy Searels as their new position coach.

Van Pran’s comments were not meant as a knock, just that Searels' style and presence were different from former offensive line coach Matt Luke who stepped down earlier this year.

But after having the spring to get acquainted with one another, Van Pran said he’s excited about what the future holds and can’t wait for fall camp to begin.

“It was a bit of a shock coming from Coach Luke. Coach Luke was an excellent coach. Coach Searels is an excellent coach, but it was a bit of a shock for the first week and a half getting used to him,” Van Pran said. “But I can say that Coach Searels is someone who genuinely cares about his players and wants the best for you. Ultimately, after about a week, everything was fine. We were all on the same page, so I’m very grateful for Coach Searels.”

While some fans looked askance when head coach Kirby Smart tabbed Searels for his second tour of duty with the Bulldogs, the choice was apparently an easy one to make.

Smart explained why back in February when Searels first came on board.

“I’m big on ‘fit’. Does someone fit the culture we are trying to create?" Smart told writers on National Signing Day. “We don’t look at a lot of things that people on the outside world look at. I look at, can they make our staff better, can they make our players better, do they fit our culture? That’s important to me and what we create at Georgia.”

Having been with Searels for six months, Van Pran can attest to what Smart means.

“I like the way he breaks down concepts, especially for the younger guys. I think one thing that can help a lot of the young guys is understanding the plays that we did, what’s best against the defense,” he said. “I think those types of things can really help the younger guys grow as players.”

Van Pran said the offensive line has also been doing a better job of bonding off the field.

“We’ve actually done a little bit more than last year,” said Van Pran, who Friday was announced as a candidate for the Rimington Award, an honor given to the nation’s top center. “I think this summer we spent a lot of time working out on Saturdays and Sundays, just spending more time, grilling, things like that. Spending time together outside of football has been a big thing for us.”

On the field, Searels and his players have plenty of work to do.

Although Van Pran (center), Broderick Jones (left tackle) and Warren McClendon (right tackle) appear to be the favorites to start at their respective positions, there’s going to be a scrum of players competeing for the two starting spots at guard.

“It will definitely be a battle,” Van Pran said. “It’s something I’m looking forward to. I have a lot of trust in all of them, Tate (Ratledge), Devin (Willock), (Xavier) Truss, Warren Ericson … the truth is a lot of guys are really talented and I think ultimately, we’ll be fine.”