I think realtionships can be made through friendship first situations. However, if he is having doubts which stem from no sparks aspect, at this point in the realtionship, it could be a red flag especially if he has to run it by his counselor. Long distance realtionships are hard to mantain and 6 weeks is a short time to really know if a realationship will work or not. In other words, it's too early to be serious anyway. Good realtionships are built over time. Believe me I have been one to jump in quick and regret later.