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SEC veteran assistant not being retained by Jeff Lebby at Mississippi State, per report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
SEC veteran assistant Will Friend will look for a new opportunity, according to a report. Jeff Lebby has opted not to retain Friend at Mississippi State, FootballScoop shared Wednesday.
A long-time offensive line coach, Mississippi State was Friend’s latest stop in the SEC. He was hired by Zach Arnett to the offensive staff for 2023. Arnett was dismissed before the end of the season.
Friend was a starting guard at Alabama, earning All-SEC recognition twice. Prior to joining the MSU staff, Friend also coached in the conference at Georgia (2011-14), Tennessee (2018-20) and Auburn (2021-22).
This past season, Mississippi State was 6th in the SEC in sacks allowed with 2.17 per game. On the ground, the Bulldogs averaged 4.39 yards per carry, which ranked 9th in the conference. In a drastic departure from the Air Raid, MSU passed for just 181.8 yards per game, ranking next-to-last among SEC teams.
Lebby confirmed Monday that he will be Mississippi State’s offensive play-caller. Bulldog fans will be watching closely to see how Lebby rounds out the offensive staff, including the offensive line coach.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
