Will Friend expected to be UGA's next O-Line coach

Barring any late snag, Will Friend should soon be announced as Georgia’s next offensive line coach.

Friend, a former Georgia graduate assistant, has served as the line coach at UAB the past four seasons.

Neil Callaway, the UAB head coach and former Georgia offensive line coach, wouldn’t confirm Friend’s hiring when reached on Monday.

“That’s something they’ve got to announce,” Callaway said of Georgia.

UGA spokesman Claude Felton said earlier on Monday that he wasn’t aware of any scheduled announcement yet. Attempts to reach Friend have not been successful.

Friend, who grew up in Mississippi, played at Alabama from 1993-96. He coached at the high school and small college level, including Gardner-Webb for two seasons before going to UAB.

He was hired at UAB before the 2007 season, after Callaway was announced as head coach. Callaway’s departure to coach UAB led to Georgia hiring Stacy Searels – whose departure to Texas last month ended up paving the way, apparently, for Friend.

UAB yielded 12 sacks this year, tied for 15th in the nation. The Blazers ranked 59th in the nation in rushing offense last season.

One of Friend’s best coaching jobs was with a lineman named Matt McCants. The 6-fooot-7, 295-pound McCants only played one year of high school football, playing tuba in the school band before joining the team his senior season.

Under Friend’s tutelage, McCants started seven games at offensive tackle as a true freshman, including the season opener against Michigan State. After sitting out the 2008 season with academic issues, he returned to the left tackle spot and became an all-conference selection.

Here's a link to Friend's bio on the UAB web site.