ATHENS — The Georgia coaching tree adding another limb in the SEC this week with Christian Robinson among the latest to join Alabama’s coaching staff.

Robinson hails from Norcross and played football for the Bulldogs from 2009-12, piling up 149 tackles over his four years and 51 games.

“Christian is the kind of guy that could do whatever he wanted in life, and you knew he would do well at it,” said former UGA coach Mark Richt, who recruited Robinson as a player and then helped launch his coaching career by keeping him on staff as a graduate in 2013 and 2014.

“He’s just a first-class human being, and he was a very smart and very tough player for us.”

Robinson will work for a head coach who has a very tough job on his hands replacing seven-time national championship coach Nick Saban.

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has been kept busy with coaching turnover as well as player transactions.

DeBoer has had to replace three of the Washington assistant coaches who at first accompanied him to Alabama.

Celebrated offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff left Alabama for the Seattle Seahawks, and then former Washington co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach William Inge left the Tide for a job at Tennessee.

Robinson will fill the outside linebackers coaching position for the Tide after coaching last season under defensive guru Dave Aranda at Baylor.

Robinson reflected back on his time playing for Richt and UGA’s recent success under Kirby Smart during an interview early in his tenure with the Bears.

“(Richt) was one of the best people I’ve ever been around, and between my father and playing for Mark Richt, I didn’t realize how spoiled I was to have men like that in my life,” Robinson said. “Coach Richt was a father to many that didn’t have one, and that is something that resonated with me. (Players) won’t remember the plays, but they’ll remember how you made them feel and how you poured into them, and he did that every single day.”

Georgia’s recent success is another source of pride for Robinson, who will surely bring much of Smart’s mentality back into the meeting rooms in Tuscaloosa.

“The consistency in performance, it’s something we talk about in our (meeting) room,” Robinson said, asked about Smart leading the Bulldogs’ to back-to-back championships, the most recent won by any SEC teams.

“Being able to do what other people are not willing to do with your time, with your attention to detail, and with your toughness, those are all traits I know the past few years that team has had.”

Robinson coached Auburn linebackers in 2022 after a four-year stint coaching linebackers at Florida.

Other graduate assistant coaching stops for the former Georgia linebacker included Mississippi State (2017), Ole Miss (2015-16) and the two years under Todd Grantham on the defensive staff at UGA.

Robinson was named to the American Football Coaches Association “35 under 35″ listing in 2022, ranked among the top up-and-coming coaches under 35 years old.