Without pixel peeping I don't see much of an issue with sharpness. To me it would be more important to consider the overall composition more and try to shoot in less harsh light(direct bright sunlight). That is what I'm trying to focus on with my photography.
In my opinion there is too much in focus in these shots, in particular the second. By stopping down from f/8 to f/5.6 and zooming in to say 100mm, you would get a tighter portrait with less dead space at the top and you would start to blur the background more making in less distracting. Remember your friend is the subject of the photo and a cluttered background will distract from that.
I prefer the first shot as the background is nicer, by shooting this again just a bit tighter and with less harsh light I think would help.
From a technical point of view remember that focal length and the distance from your subject have an impact on depth of field, with longer focal lengths having a shallower depth of field.
There are far more experienced portrait photographers on here who could give much more help with lighting and composition. I'm still a beginner myself and so these are the things I'm working on improving myself.