Georgia football coach Mark Richt completed his staff Saturday evening with the hiring of Rob Sale, who will oversee the offensive line.
Sale has spent the past three seasons at McNeese State, where he was offensive line coach before adding the title of co-offensive coordinator last summer. He replaces Will Friend, who is now the offensive coordinator at Colorado State under new Rams coach Mike Bobo.
"We're excited about the addition of Rob as our new offensive line coach and look forward to the contributions he'll make to our program," Richt said in a released statement. "I firmly believe he's going to be the perfect fit for Georgia."
McNeese State averaged 396.5 yards and 32.4 points per game this past season, with 221.9 of its yards coming on the ground.
Sale previously was an assistant strength and conditioning coach and an offensive analyst at Alabama from 2007 to 2011. The Crimson Tide won two national championships during his time in Tuscaloosa.
"This is a great opportunity, and I'm ready to hit the road recruiting this week," Sale said. "The top priority will be to see as many recruits as possible and help finish up this 2015 class. At the same time, I'm also looking forward to meeting and getting to know our current players.
"It's an exciting time to be joining a program with such a great history and tradition."
Sale played on the offensive line for Nick Saban at LSU. He played center and guard for the 2001 Tigers, who upset Tennessee to win the league title, and started all 13 games in 2002 at right guard.
Richt in several weeks will begin his 15th spring practice with Sale representing his fourth offensive line coach. Neil Callaway (2001-06), Stacy Searels (2007-10) and Friend (2011-14) each worked at least four seasons before leaving for another opportunity.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.