Ex-Georgia Southern coach Summers to join Smart’s’ staffff

ATHENS — Former Georgia Southern coach Tyson Summers has joined the Georgia football staffffffffffff, where he will work again with Kirby Smart, his longtime friend.

Summers was at Calhoun High School on Thursday night recruiting for UGA, Calhoun coach Hal Lamb confifirmed Friday morning. It appears Summers is joinin gina quality-control, of field role, but he was on the road Thursday night in a recruiting role.

Georgia has yet to fifill the newly allowed 10th assistant coaching spot, so until then, the team is allowed to send somebody on the road to fifill that role in a recruiting capacity. Jay Valai, who had been a quality-control coach at UGA, was among those also recruiting this month before he accepted a similar role with the Kansas City Chiefs.

There was no immediate confifirmation from UGA on the hiring of Summers, a native of Tifton who will turn 38 in April. Summers could not be immediately reached for comment. It’s not clear howlong Summers has been working for UGA.

Summers was let go by Georgia Southern on Oct. 22, less than two years after being hired by the States boro school. Georgia Southern was 0-6 this season after a 5-7 season the season before.

Summers has a defensive background, having been the defensive coordinator for Mike Bobo at Colorado State in 2015, before getting the Georgia Southern job.

Smart and Summers were roommates in 2005, the year Smart was Georgia’ s running backs coach and Summers was a graduate assistant. The two had known each other for years before that and remained in touch, going on recruiting trips together over the ensuing decade, occasionally with Bobo in tow.

In fact, the trio held a satellite camp together the summer of 2016, off iffi ci ally hosted by Summers and Georgia Southern, but with Smart and Bobo and their staffs also participating.