It wasn’t too long ago that Will Parker experienced the initial recruiting process that eventually landed him in the SEC. A high-prized recruit out of Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville, Parker held offers from more than half the league and eventually signed with Tennessee during the 2021 recruiting cycle.

However, a serendipitous workout during a summer recruiting camp is now paying dividends for the UAB football team.

“When I heard Coach Eddie (Gordon) was coming, I was excited,” Parker said. “I had to work for my (Georgia) offer. We were out there 1-on-1 for about two hours. I got very familiar with him throughout my high school recruitment. He’s a young guy, he can relate. He’s already helped put so many great players into the league.”

The Blazers secured the transfer portal services of Parker as an early enrollee this spring, shortly before the hiring of Gordon as offensive line coach, and his transition into a new program — operating under different leadership for the first time in almost a decade — is going much smoother than anticipated with a familiar face.

“Will is getting better every day,” Gordon said. “I was familiar with who he was. He’s very athletic, he’s a great kid and he learns well and is very smart. The sky is the limit for him.”

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Gordon spent the last four seasons as an offensive line assistant at Georgia, learning under current Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and former Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke, and helped to place eight offensive linemen in the NFL Draft during his time with the Bulldogs.

The talent gap between Georgia and UAB, not to mention a majority of the FBS, is abundant but Gordon only sees the problems that plague all teams.

“We both have good players and we all have the same issues,” Gordon said. “Backside cutoff is always an issue. Making the right I.D. is always an issue. It’s not a big difference in talent, it’s still football. We have a great group here, they work hard and they love to work.”

The Blazers lost all five starters from a year ago, a unit that paved the way for NCAA rushing leader DeWayne McBride (1,713 yards), but there are those with significant playing experience returning to the fold.

Redshirt junior center Brady Wilson earned seven starts last season, qualifying him as a starter, but four of those were as a sixth lineman in heavy formations. Trey Bedosky, Eli Richey and Quez Yates are the only other offensive linemen with significant playing experience.

Will Rykard, who started 10 games at center, had an additional year of eligibility but chose to medically retire following the 2022 season — leaving the position to Wilson. Bedosky logged two starts at left tackle last year, setting up at right tackle this spring, and Quez Yates has taken over at left guard following a season-ending injury to Zaire Flournoy.

“It’s awesome because I’m trying to find the best group to go out there and play on Saturday,” Gordon said. “Guys play multiple positions and we’re throwing guys around multiple spots — playing a little tackle, playing a little center, playing a little guard — and guys are working. They lost a lot of starters last year so we’ll have five new ones, but I told the guys, ‘We have five, we have enough.’ I’m looking forward to that.”

Parker, one of those five coming out of spring practice, cemented his role at left tackle early in spring practice but is also taking reps at multiple spots along the line. Not only does he tower above others, standing 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, but the redshirt sophomore is athletic enough to play and pull from the interior.

“I’m comfortable at tackle but need more work at guard and playing inside,” he said. “When you’re on an island so long — I’ve been playing tackle since high school — you get used to being in space. The staff showed me, ‘You might be a little smaller in where you came from but you’re about to work harder.’ That’s what it is every day, a fight to get better.”