Former Temple center Kyle Friend has sought out NFL specialists as well as training with the Owls strength and conditioning staff at Temple’s Olson Hall. Photo by Al Thompson

BY ROCK HOFFMAN AND AL THOMPSON

A college football player who wants to continue his career in the NFL would be elated to go any team and Temple offensive lineman Kyle Friend is no different.

“Seventh round or free agency, that’s what I’ve heard,” Friend said when asked if he had an idea where he fit into team’s plans. “I’ve talked with a few teams.”

There’s a theory that it would be better for a late-round draft pick to actually be a free agent that way the player could pick the best possible situation and sign with that team.

“I’ve heard that a lot,” Friend said. “Either way I’ll be grateful for the opportunity.”

Friend is back on campus preparing for the draft which takes place April 28-30. The 6-2, 305 pound Friend, started 38 games at center for the Owls during his career after his first five starts as a freshman came at guard. He’s been projected at both positions in the pros and was listed as a guard on the roster for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, a post-season All-Star game for prospective NFL players. In all Friend, played in 45 out of a possible 49 games (he missed the last four regular season games of the 2015 season with a knee injury but returned to play in the American Athletic Conference Championship game and Boca Raton Bowl).

Friend was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine but three of his teammates (Tyler Matakevich, Tavon Young and Matt Ioannidis) were and he picked their brains to help his performance at the Temple pro day where he impressed with 41 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press; it was seven more than the best mark at the combine.

“When we all went our separate ways to train,” he said. “We all kept in touch with each other. Now that we’re all back here working out, it’s nice to have someone that you can talk to about the whole process.”

Also, Friend praised Temple’s head strength & conditioning coach for football Jeremy Scott for all he did for him to get ready for pro Day.“We did that at Temple,” said Friend, who was named first team All-AAC as a senior. “We trained with Jeremy and his staff for pro day drills.”

But he felt he needed more, after all Scott has an entire team to train for next season.

So in February he enrolled in the renowned Chip Smith Performance NFL Combine/Pro Day Prep sessions located in Duluth, GA.

Smith and his staff are well known for their success in getting NFL prospects ready for the Combine and Pro Day. Friend said it was hard core focus on the events the NFL puts prospects through.

“That’s all we did down there,” Friend said. “We also had a position coach down there for offensive linemen.”

Friend explained what his goals were for going to Chip Smith.

“I’ve just been working on bettering certain aspects of my game, more so than when I was in college,” Friend said. “I think when you train for these pro days you are really just becoming a better athlete. So when you go away and train, that’s what I really did. We were just really focusing on those drills.”

Friend talked about what he learned from all these experiences of just training and not having to worry about school?

“Just talking to a lot of guys who are already in the NFL, I have to try and stay healthy, work hard, it sounds like a cliché, but means a lot, it goes a long way. You’ve got to bust your butt while you’re out there doing it, and be open to coaching. No matter what system you’re going to, you’ve got to be open to it.”

Former New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl tackle Jon Stinchcomb, an eight year NFL veteran, was the offensive line coach at Chip Smith. He teaches pro techniques to the young players like Friend aspiring to play in the league.

“I learned a lot from him,” Friend said. “Football, the whole social aspect of the whole game, and just how to go about doing things.”

The social aspect is something Friend knows well, the 2015 seniors are a close group. They were thrown into the fire as freshmen in Steve Addazio’s last season as head coach. Then went from two wins as sophomores, in Matt Rhule’s first season, to 10 wins as seniors in, perhaps, the best season in Temple football history.

Even though they all have individual goals now, Friend admitted it’s hard to let go of their final season as Owls.

“You hit the nail on the head,” he said when asked about the camaraderie among the group.

“You don’t want to give it up, it was such a good feeling to end that way. Even to just go out and watch the guys that are coming up next year practice, you’re still trying to hold onto last year a little bit.”

Soon enough, it will be time to move on for good and Friend is aware of that as well. For the first time in a long time, he will have to compete against outstanding players to win a job. He said many of the current NFL players who still train at Chip Smith’s talked to him about the adjustment.

“When I was in Georgia, a lot of guys gave pointers on how to be a good rookie, a good teammate,” Friend said. “This is not going to be like college, this is a lot different…college to the NFL. I’m going to take it day by day.”

Email Rock Hoffman at Rock@footballstories.com

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii