Maine’s three NESCAC football teams have put a lot of focus into their offensive lines since training camp started Aug. 21.

Bates, Bowdoin and Colby are at different stages, but the coaches are confident their blockers will be able to protect the quarterback and open holes for the running game when the season begins Sept. 13.

Bates, which opens at home against Amherst, enters the 2025 season with the most experienced line, led by juniors Kevin McDonald and John Antolik and sophomore Ryder Smith, who started as a freshman. Bates coach Matt Coyne said another junior, Andrew Finn, has also “stepped up into a role.”

“So those guys are really the centerpiece of it,” Coyne said, “but there’s a lot of depth there as well. … Some guys that developed, and we brought in a good class. Those guys are developing nicely after only being here for six days.”

The Bobcats’ offensive line was twice named to the D3football.com Team of the Week last year, after wins against Wesleyan and Middlebury. The O-line helped Bates lead the NESCAC with 1,723 yards rushing, led by first-team running back Ryan Lynskey’s 1,091 yards.

In Waterville, head coach Jack Cosgrove said Colby is working with linemen who have little college football experience except for seniors Joelin Pimentel and Nasir Lawson.

“Our big concern would be the fact that we had four senior offensive linemen last year who graduated, and three of them started, and one of them was our next guy in the game,” Cosgrove said. “So it really just left us with two guys who had game experience last year, and we’ve had to replace (them). We basically (have) three (new) starters in the (offensive) line, (but) that’s gone very well. It’s gone better than we thought, faster than we thought in many ways, with just seeing their growth and seeing their development.”

The Mules, who open at home against Trinity, ranked sixth in NESCAC with 1,060 rushing yards last season.

Bowdoin was seventh in NESCAC with 1,002 yards on the ground. Coach B.J. Hammer said the Polar Bears have 12 offensive linemen in camp. There’s competition at guard, but Bowdoin is set at tackle and center, with Ethan Ecsedy and James Lucey protecting the outside and Tyler Larson snapping the ball.

“Any football coach can tell you, if you have a little doubt at center, you’re going to have balls on the ground, which, in fact, wastes time,” Hammer said. “So having our center return, I thought he was all-conference-caliber last year. So I have high expectations for Tyler this year.”

Defenses find early groove

The defenses are ahead of the offenses early in training camp, which isn’t unusual because, Cosgrove notes, the defense’s job is more simple.

“Defense is, I think, more reactive,” Cosgrove said. “It’s instinctive. It plays to human abilities. If you have the instincts, if you find ball, see ball, get ball kind of thing, it really simplifies the game. Offense, sometimes I think we’ve got just too damn complicated on offense.”

Hammer agrees, but said experience can also be a factor.

“It depends on how many returners you have,” Hammer said. “I’ve been in a place where we were kind of breaking in the defense and offense is ahead. I think that plays a role in it, too. It’s a game where you just play it fast and go ‘bang.’ We try to let our guys cut free a little bit on (defense). I think that’s a little bit behind it, a little less nuance than you have on offense.”

Trying to stay healthy

The coaches are trying to balance going full speed in drills with keeping their players healthy over the next two weeks. Hammer and the Bowdoin coaching staff are teaching the Polar Bears to not pile on top of each other during preseason.

“What we really emphasize is just staying off the ground,” Hammer said. “If someone is on the ground, that guy on the ground may not get hurt, but he’ll probably roll into somebody else, and that guy would get hurt. Honestly, that’s what it is across the board: Can you stay off the ground? It means you’re an athlete, and no one’s going to get hurt. It’s not about the contact, it’s about staying off the ground.”

Hammer said Bowdoin is a little nicked up but hasn’t had any injuries that are too concerning.

Coyne, meanwhile, said Bates hasn’t shied away from physicality.

“We’ve been unscathed through the first week of practice, and we’ve been going pretty physical,” Coyne said. “Just our style of offense and defense is different from the rest of the league because we’re a run-heavy team, and our line and our backs have done really well. Our size, strength and physicality, I think I’m really happy with that.”

Heading in the right direction

Sixty-three players were on the roster when Coyne took over at Bates in 2022. This year, 91 players showed up for camp. The Bobcats are coming off a 2-7 season that featured rare wins over Wesleyan and Middlebury.

“I think culturally, we’re always rising,” Coyne said. “I think that’s one of the things that, as you take over a program, like we did back in ’22, it takes a little while (to populate) the program with the right people that have the right focus and understand the process to build a competitive roster at the highest level. Obviously, the two big wins last year against teams that Bates hasn’t beaten in over 40 years … shows those guys that there’s validation to the work.”

Cosgrove said Colby, which went 4-5 last year, is progressing nicely in preseason camp.

“It’s on the seniors to set the tone, the pace, and they’ve done that,” Cosgrove said. “We’ve been really productive. We’re in our practices and excited about the developments going on, and (hope) to continue to maintain that and stay healthy as we go forward.”

Hammer said training camp has gone as expected, and now the focus for a team that went 3-6 in 2024 will shift to preparing for a Week 1 matchup against Tufts in Brunswick.

“So, our goal is to beat Tufts, and we’ve got a big challenge with them,” Hammer said. “We’ve had some really good games with them over the years, and this is going to be a big one for us. So, we’re primarily focused on that, and we’ll take it from there.”