FORT COLLINS — The Macon Telegraph on Tuesday reported that Georgia offensive line coach and running game coordinator Will Friend had informed head coach Mark Richt he would be joining Mike Bobo’s staff at Colorado State.
Friend presumably would be CSU’s offensive coordinator, with Bobo at least initially calling plays.
Friend has been on the Georgia staff since 2011. He was a four-year starter at guard for Alabama from 1993-96.
Holdovers. The two members of Jim McElwain’s staff who attended Bobo’s news conference Tuesday — co-defensive coordinator Marty English and defensive line coach Greg Lupfer — introduced themselves to the new coach after the formalities.
“I would like to be here,” English said.
Said Lupfer: “Obviously, I’m here for a reason and want to express my interest in the opportunity to stay. I have a daughter (Taylor) who’s a senior in high school and has been accepted to Colorado State. I don’t want to move my family. I love it here. It’s a great place to live and a great place to raise a family.
“We developed great relationships with these players, and I think a lot of them would love to have the opportunity to still keep us around.”
Changing landscape. Both Bobo and CSU president Tony Frank said they didn’t have extensive discussions on the imminent granting of autonomy to the power five conferences, expected to lead to players receiving “cost of attendance” stipends and schools adding additional costs. That raises the issue of to what extent CSU and other schools in the Mountain West or other “group of five” leagues will attempt to match those additional enticements.
“We talked about philosophy around them, and the philosophy around them is that we’re not going to write blank checks and say we’ll do whatever happens,” Frank said. “I think that’s silliness. On the other hand, we’ve modeled all the major stuff that’s been talked about, and we’re confident we can do that.”
