The defending national champions have an unexpected opening, and the line forms to the left to coach Georgia's offensive line. In addition to coaching one of the nation's most talented position groups -- of the 10 players on the Dawgs' 2021 2-deep, four were 4-stars and three were 5-stars -- Matt Luke's replacement will be among the highest-paid O-line coaches in the profession.
Sources tell FootballScoop that three of the coaches in contention to coach Georgia's offensive line are Auburn's Will Friend, Baylor's Eric Mateos, and former Ohio Sate offensive line coach Greg Studrawa.
Friend is a longtime confidant of Mike Bobo, the former Bulldogs quarterback and offensive coordinator who returned to the program as an analyst last month. A member of Alabama's All-1990s team as a two-time All-SEC offensive guard, Friend recently completed his first season as Auburn's offensive line coach. He also coached at Georgia under Bobo from 2011-14, and spent three years leading Tennessee's offensive line from 2015-17.
A 2010 graduate of Southwest Baptist, Mateos is a rising name to watch in the offensive line community. Working alongside coordinator Jeff Grimes, his offensive line helped Baylor transform from one of college football's worst run games to one of its best in the pair's first year in Waco. Baylor averaged 2.73 yards per carry in their 2-win campaign of 2020; in 2021, the Bears rushed for 5.38 per carry (ninth nationally) en route to winning the Big 12 and the Sugar Bowl.
In 2020, Mateos was part of an offense that led the nation in yards per play at 7.84. Over the past two seasons, Mateos has been part of teams that posted a collective 23-3 record.
Prior to joining BYU in 2019, Mateos was the offensive line coach at Texas State from 2017-18. He was promoted to tight ends coach midseason at LSU in 2016, and prior to that he spent three seasons studying under Sam Pittman at Arkansas. His first full-time job came in 2012 as Hutchinson Community College's offensive line coach.
Studrawa spent the past six seasons coaching the offensive line at Ohio State, a span that saw the Buckeyes score as many points as any team in the land. He has also coached offensive lines at Arkansas State, Bowling Green, LSU and Maryland. Studrawa won a national championship with the Tigers in 2007 and coached for titles in 2011 and 2020.
Other candidates could emerge as the search develops. In the meantime, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.