I had the same issue until hitting 9th grade. Made friend group consisting of all the stereotypical groups but we all played Xbox, which drew us together. The 6 of us are still close as ever and we’re all 27ish now. Not saying it’ll be easy for him, but gaming was a real outlet / medium to use for me, and probably is for him to. I’d tell him just to not get discouraged. It sucks, especially in school, but it definitely gets better. MUCH better. Just keep your head up and drive on.