The University of Alabama didn't recruit Gabe Giardina. It was the other way around.

Giardina grew up in State College, Pa., where his father worked in the Penn State athletic department as director of marketing and promotions for 17 years, but he knew he wanted to try to play somewhere else in college.

He picked Alabama, and reached out to the coaching staff of then-head coach Mike DuBose.

"I just wanted to make my own path a little bit," he said. "I felt like God wanted me to go somewhere that wasn't home.

"I was recruiting the school more than they were recruiting me."

He had a good senior year in high school and got an invitation to walk on as a non-scholarship player.

By the time he graduated in 2004, Giardina had played in nine games and seen DuBose, Dennis Franchione and Mike Price come and go as head coaches, and Mike Shula begin his tenure. Still, he wanted more.

"I had to fight, bite and scratch just to stay on the team as a player," he said. "I volunteered (to coach) for Mike Shula for a year, working for free."

Shula elevated him to a graduate assistant position a year later, and Nick Saban kept him on in that capacity when he was hired in 2007.

"It was a great experience," he said. "Met my wife there, got two degrees from there and absolutely love Tuscaloosa."

Giardina gets to experience Tuscaloosa again on Saturday when he returns as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Charleston Southern. His players at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision school are excited about playing against a major-college national title contender. The coach is excited about coming back to where he got his start.

"You try not to hyperventilate too much," he said. "It's fun to be nostalgic about it, but then you're trying to get your guys prepared.

"It's been on the schedule a while. There's those natural emotions of it's cool to go back there and play, but then you get back into your season and the things this team has been able to do and how hard this bunch of guys play for each other, we've got guys that really love each other and a staff that loves the kids."

Jamey Chadwell, head coach of the Buccaneers, sees the passion Giardina brings to the program.

"A tireless worker and does a great job with the kids, loves his kids and he's fun to play hard for," Chadwell said. "Gabe does a great job with our offensive line and also as our offensive coordinator. He brings a great edge every day. He's a typical offensive line guy, always looking for some way to motivate, and does a phenomenal job."

Giardina was a backup kicker at Alabama.

"He also helps our kickers," Chadwell said. "He's always there as a reminder for them, so he's a big reason why we're having success."

Charleston Southern brings a 9-1 record to Bryant-Denny Stadium and has already secured the Big South league championship and a berth in the FCS playoffs.

"This is the first outright championship the school's ever won," Giardina said. "It's the first trip to the playoffs. This is the best team Charleston Southern has ever put out there.

"To me, if I could coach at a high level that would be a great dream, but more than anything I'll never look back at 2015 and not get emotional about the things these guys have done. Charleston Southern was 0-11 in 2011. You look at what they have done as a team for a first time at a place that has never been all that successful."

Giardina has tried to bring some of the lessons he learned under Saban to CSU.

"He's got great players, but the culture he's created at the University of Alabama has sustained itself over the years," Giardina said. "The way he's done it and kept his message fresh is something.

"From a non-football perspective, he really does a ton in the offseason and in fall camp of just trying to build into the players, helping them become what he calls being a champion beyond the field. The folks they bring in to speak to the team, the leadership stuff they do, he genuinely cares about the kids beyond the field. He talks about signing with Alabama not being a four-year decision, but being a 40- or 50-year decision.

"We're trying to build a family at Charleston Southern, and it's not a four-year family. It's a family that lasts 40 or 50 years. We don't want to find out you're getting married on Facebook, we want to get the text message."

The 35-year-old coach, who is married to the former Wimberly Edwards of Greenville, with three sons all under age 5, knows his team faces a daunting task. He wants this player to focus on their assignments rather than Alabama's pedigree.

"I'm not going to show them too many clips of A'Shawn Robinson jumping over the snapper (to block a kick against LSU)," he said. "I try not to tell them what (UA players) were recruited as, we're talking about how we're going to be fundamental and block these guys based on how they line up rather than this guy across from you might be a high draft pick.

"They can watch it. They know, but it's more about showing them who to block and not concentrate on where this guy's going to play in three years or next year."

Giardina also wants his players to experience the atmosphere of an Alabama home game. He remembers being on the sideline as a player and feeling like the ground was shaking after Tyrone Prothro caught a long touchdown pass.

"The kids are super-excited," he said. "We don't get to play in many stadiums like this. It's fun to go make that dream a little bit of a reality for them. The big thing is you want to walk out like you walk out of any game, feeling like you executed well."