ATHENS — Georgia's newest student assistant coach could probably still kick a 40-yard field goal. Well, he might be able to if it wasn't for the artificial hip he just had installed.

Kevin Butler, a former Chicago Bear and Georgia Bulldog who’s in the College Football Hall of Fame, is coaching the Bulldogs’ kickers and punters. Long a distant adviser for UGA kickers who cared to call and ask for his input, Butler is now fully sanctioned.

A student and player at Georgia from 1981-84, the 54-year-old Butler returned to school this fall to complete class requirements for his undergraduate degree. That fulfills the NCAA’s requirement for being an on-field assistant coach.

“He is an undergraduate student; he’s finishing up his degree, which allows him to help us,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I think it’s the greatest asset a first-year coach could have, especially with somebody like me who really has not dealt on the psychological side of kickers. Who better to have than one of the greatest ever to kick in the game.”

Butler has always made himself available to Georgia’s kickers who might want to pick his brain for advice. Blair Walsh and Marshall Morgan, most recently, often would utilize his knowledge of kicking on a personal basis. At the same time, Butler’s son Drew Butler was a punter for the Bulldogs.

NCAA rules eliminated the use of volunteer coaches in the 1990s, so Butler could never offer on-field instruction. Because of his class responsibilities and other personal duties, Butler is not at Georgia’s practices every day.