A ‘Friend’ as OL coach? Dogs No. 18?
A few quick notes this morning . . .
- There’s some chatter that Will Friend could become Georgia’s next offensive line coach, although no word — nor indication of imminent word — from UGA. Just in case, here’s a bit of background on Friend:
As an offensive guard at Alabama in the 1990s, he was a four-year starter and a two-time All-SEC player. He was named to Alabama’s Team of the Decade. He has been UAB’s offensive line coach for the past four years and before that was offensive line coach at Gardner-Webb for two years. UAB’s head coach is Neil Callaway, a former offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Georgia. In fact, Friend helped Callaway with Georgia’s offensive line for two years as a graduate assistant.
- Georgia ranks No. 18 in the second edition of ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach’s 2011 Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25, posted today. Interesting teams on both sides of the Bulldogs in the rankings: No. 17 Auburn and No. 19 Texas. Florida is No. 20. No. 1? Oklahoma.
- Georgia has sold out of reserved seats for Saturday’s men’s basketball game against Auburn in Stegeman Coliseum. Student tickets remain available, but Georgia expects a fifth consecutive sellout by the 1:30 p.m. tipoff.
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238 comments Add your comment
the sham
February 4th, 2011
12:14 pm
@ Vance Duly – For what it’s worth, I thought it was clever!
Any thoughts from the LB recruits and how they feel about the switcherooo?
DAWG ONE
February 4th, 2011
12:14 pm
From what I understand, his record is not all that good at UAB. We need someone with a proven success record and with some fire in his belly!
RAID
February 4th, 2011
12:16 pm
well said SEC Fact Finder……Negative publicity spreads fast in coaching circles and now it’s hindering us……With that being said, Friend is a good solid hire with great worth ethic……He will kick our lazy offensive lines a$$ until they get it right……
SEC Fact Finder
February 4th, 2011
12:16 pm
matt.
I agree with the Tennessee comment, but early in the year until a couple of poor decisions by Derek Dooley, Tennessee played Oregon tough, LSU tough and even though young were in alot of those ballgames prior to finding a new quarterback in the Grey kid.
STEINER
February 4th, 2011
12:17 pm
Mickey Mouse:
You don’t have a clue…You are either a Techie or a dumb redneck UGA bandwagon fan…Get back in that McDonald’s kitchen and super size my fries…You wouldn’t know a good hire from a bad one, all you go on is “name”….
mostknownunknown
February 4th, 2011
12:20 pm
http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/friend_will00.html
mostknownunknown
February 4th, 2011
12:23 pm
Anyone know where he played his pro ball? All that good surely he went high in the draft? Injury? Let’s get some history here.
STEINER
February 4th, 2011
12:24 pm
Grim Reaper:
In Russia, they call it “tough Shivitski”….You sign to go to a school, not a coach….
STEINER
February 4th, 2011
12:27 pm
DAWG ONE:
Hear nothing but great things about Will Friend….12 sacks in 12 games….We need a guy like this who knows his stuff and wants to prove himself….
Mr. Rogers
February 4th, 2011
12:27 pm
Gee, I sure hope UGA can compete with the mighty Boise Broncs, the darling of the mass media. I hope they aren’t too mean. It just seems so unfair that lowly UGA has to open the season against a juggernaut. Oh well, there is always the cupcake SEC schedule to look forward to.
Big Dick
February 4th, 2011
12:29 pm
SEC Fact Finder, Amen, I totally agree.
BobDawg
February 4th, 2011
12:29 pm
…..Just talked to a Coach at G-Webb and Friend is the real deal and a coach on the Rise….Dawgs will be very pleased with him and think about this…I’m surprised we had as many options as what was being said this position that could have been a one and done…
STEINER
February 4th, 2011
12:31 pm
tide roll:
He’s a Bama guy here that you’re blasting, tide roll…Never heard a Bama guy undercut another Bama guy, you might be a Techie….He was All-SEC for you guys for 2 years, a starter for 4 years….
Mtn Dawg
February 4th, 2011
12:31 pm
I’ll be at the UGA game tomorrow. First one this year. Can’t wait.
Tweets that mention A ‘Friend’ as OL coach? Dogs No. 18? | UGA sports blog -- Topsy.com
February 4th, 2011
12:31 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Georgia Sports Now and The Commish, bulldogtweets.com. bulldogtweets.com said: #UGA A ‘Friend’ as OL coach? Dogs No. 18?: A few quick notes this morning . . . There’s some chatter that Will F… http://bit.ly/dKKXFb [...]
how2fish
February 4th, 2011
12:35 pm
SEC Fact Finder thanks for the background info and the objective comments..thanks !
A ‘Friend’ as OL coach? Dogs No. 18? – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) | Best Dog Store
February 4th, 2011
12:37 pm
[...] News Sources wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
dawgster
February 4th, 2011
12:40 pm
@STEINER…tide roll is not a Bama fan, that has pretty much been established just by his posts and other Bama fans…Not really sure who he pulls for, but he is a consistant dawg basher…most of us have learned not to respond to him as you really can’t have a civil conversation with him…and he also will post the same repetitive comments over and over and over……go dawgs
Tater Tot
February 4th, 2011
12:41 pm
I say go for it. He looks like a very good candidate. Any friend of Mark Richt’s is a friend of mine. LOL
STEINER
February 4th, 2011
12:44 pm
dawgster:
Thanks for alerting me to a possible retard coming on the site….Tide Roll is an idiot…..
WIN WITH RICHT
February 4th, 2011
12:45 pm
How about Matt Stinchcomb?
STEINER
February 4th, 2011
12:49 pm
Grim Reaper:
Last time we say Kirby he had his head down after losing the 2 players from Valdosta, Drew from Thomas County Central, kid from Colquitt County…And then the Running Back….He was licking his wounds, not his chops….He took a major recruiting A$$ Kicking in South Georgia this year….
Tater Tot
February 4th, 2011
12:52 pm
STEINER. I have to agree with you. Although i read these blogs a lot and don’t contribute much i do enjoy the few on here that know what they are talking about intelligently and not the moron or morons that get under assumed aliases speaking negativity.
Grim Reaper
February 4th, 2011
12:53 pm
Hey Whiner, er, Steiner, yep, once you sign on the dotted line it’s over! Kind of like Dooley, Cavan, Hafner and Hushel did that night in Wrightsville, in blood, no mas campeones por Pero’toro’s, translated, NO MORE NC’s for Bulldogs, souls sold, collecting ever since, I AM the Grim Reaper, ever heard of the real me?
Turene and Wilson are fine!
February 4th, 2011
12:53 pm
Some of you guys love to blog about stuff you know nothing about just to try and stir stuff up. Pound sand and GO DAWGS!!!
Hector
February 4th, 2011
12:56 pm
I’m dead serious about Coach Bret Davis at Ga. Southern!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grim Reaper
February 4th, 2011
12:56 pm
Kirby’s head was down but he was smiling, he wanted them to come to UGA so he could coach them in 2012, congrats!
redblk47
February 4th, 2011
12:57 pm
why not hire davd pollack as the lb coach there is a man with a motor and who can fire a team up to play
rodney
February 4th, 2011
12:58 pm
Unreal recruiting class. Awful hire. We’ll see. Time’s clicking for this whole staff. Hope it works out for their sake.
82Dawg
February 4th, 2011
12:59 pm
@Grim Reaper …you willing to bet on Kirby being at UGA 2012 as HC?
Grim Reaper
February 4th, 2011
1:02 pm
82Dawg, “I DON’T WANT KIRBY TO GO HOME TO UGA”, Mark Richt is on borrowed time, not all his fault but to many high powered boosters want him gone, Kirby Smart would be terrific hire for UGA, but if they wait too long he’ll be gone. Richt is Dale Brown at LSU with Shaq, Chris Jackson and Stanley Roberts, all world talent, can’t coach, remember Rich Rod fake punt Sugar Bowl?
swimdawg68
February 4th, 2011
1:03 pm
WE should hire David Johnson he was our previous Tight End coach. He left us to go to West Va. as OL coach 3 years ago, he played at WVU. They fired HC Bill Stewart at WVU as so often happens, assistant coaches also lose their jobs. WVU had one of the nations best running attacks the last few years. CMR knows Johnson, he would be a great hire. Johnson has interviewed with CMR and he is a leading candidate.
Grim Reaper
February 4th, 2011
1:04 pm
How amny Pollocks dows it take to coach UGA? Is Richt polish? He’s certainly not polished….
Grim Reaper
February 4th, 2011
1:06 pm
Adios all, some other coach just sold his soul a year ago, time to collect on Chizik….
ugottobkidding
February 4th, 2011
1:09 pm
According to Mickey Mouse Florida should not have hired Urban Meier.Douche Bag.
gadawg98
February 4th, 2011
1:10 pm
First off, What do mean a BIG name OL coach? Can anyone spout off the old coach for the top 5 teams in the country. Didn’t think so. I remember reading the names of Richt’s staff when he was hired and thout…who the hell us Van Gorder and Callaway? Then I realized when I watch college ball, the last thing I wonder is “wow look at that lineman block…who’s coaching that guy? ” Coaches move around and their philosophy needs to match the coaches around them to be successful. Everyone is all “good riddance” about Searls, yet he’s coached on NC teams and Texas gave him a huge raise to go there.
Now…if Richt does nit turn this around and we need to hire another coach…is Kirby Smart your BIG NAME? Really? Really? IMO he us the same as Bobo. A coordinator that runs the head coach’s system, not their own. Only reason Smart is successful is cause he has followed Savannah around from LSU to NFL to bama running saban system. Don’t se other prominent programsbeating down the door for Smart who gave up a 24 point lead to Auburn last season. Please get off Smart!
ugottobkidding
February 4th, 2011
1:12 pm
You know Urban Meier from the Utah Mickey Mouse program.
gadawg98
February 4th, 2011
1:15 pm
Damn Droid substituting my words…that’s Saban not Savannah. And OL coach not “old” coach.
DawgByte
February 4th, 2011
1:19 pm
Tim -
Get out your Sherlock Holmes outfit and go find out what the deal is with Friedgen!
ryan
February 4th, 2011
1:21 pm
I say anyone who use to be a former Bama player is good hire it sounds like he was an excellent OL when played for Bama .
Dumb Dawgs
February 4th, 2011
1:22 pm
I love UGA blogs full of overly optimistic and arrogant fans shouting “we’re gonna win the East this year.”
Preseason rankings don’t mean squat if your team has bad coaching. UGA will find a way to lose. They always do.
Bobby Bulldog
February 4th, 2011
1:23 pm
Friend may have been a great player, but it’s a stretch to jump from UAB to UGA. When Diaz went to Miss. State, he had a great hands-on head coach and the team had no where to go but up. CMR also needs someone to help him with some of his discipline problems. This is all moot conjecture as he no doubt already has his man.
Dumb Dawgs
February 4th, 2011
1:24 pm
“Oklahoma #1 the most overrated team in the past 10 yrs”
Not when they win most of their games. Not when they don’t lose to teams like Colorado, Miss St, UCF etc…
tenn.DAWG
February 4th, 2011
1:28 pm
This would be a good hire,great player from a good program with something to prove.
Wilson87
February 4th, 2011
1:32 pm
I think I’m going to puke if I read another comment about how we need a proven coach and the same comment mentions Kirby Smart. I really doubt He would every even think about coming here to coach, he reads the paper too. He knows he would be under the scrutiny of the writers on this blog. And just what has he proven so far? That he can be successful under Saban? If we do get another coach in the future he will have to be an established HC with the ability to ignore the fringe fanatics that will ponce on any mistake like a buck of wolves.
JaxDawg2
February 4th, 2011
1:35 pm
Here’s his profile.
http://uabsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/friend_will00.html
Bobby Bulldog
February 4th, 2011
1:37 pm
Didn’t know David Johnson was under consideration for O-line coach but since he still owns a home in Athens, he probably would like coming back to Athens even if CMR is on hotseat. Great coach and all round good guy. Question–does Bobo want him or does he want a younger guy who would be in awe of him?
Eisendawg
February 4th, 2011
1:38 pm
For those so critical of UGA bringing in someone who is not a “big name coach”, think: Grand Valley State, Wayne State, Central Florida, Central Michigan, Western Illinois. These were the schools Brian Van Gorder coached at prior to UGA.
Jesup
February 4th, 2011
1:40 pm
UCONNs OL Coach……google it….look at how well they run the ball….
Dumb Dawgs
February 4th, 2011
1:41 pm
“UCONNs OL Coach……google it….look at how well they run the ball….’
Against who?