The “odd” behavior includes bursting into improvised songs, attending team meetings naked (as a unit, of course) and an unusual sense of humor. Mujalli cracks up the other two when he belts out an example song: “Oh, Ex-pos! I had Ex-pos to-day!”

“There are just things, trends, you know?” Mujalli tries to explain. “Guys yell out different things like, ‘Eggs!’ or just noises.”

And the naked meetings?

“It scares our coaches and other players,” Mujalli admits. “There’s towels, but the towels that are issued are very small. They cover other players, but…”

“Not us,” Traverso finishes.

The O-line mentality is, apparently, infectious. Because of the injuries this year, some defensive linemen have had to switch over to the offensive line, and the O-liners enjoy watching the change that comes over them.

Bakken, who made the switch from the D-line during the spring season of his freshman year, can relate.

“It happened slowly for me,” he remembers.

“You were a little shell-shocked at first,” Traverso says.

It’s clear that Bakken is an O-lineman through and through by now, and he agrees with the other two that there’s a sense of tradition being passed down class by class. Traverso credits Jack Fadule and Dan Wiedle (both ’03) for teaching him “how to be an offensive lineman” and helping him embrace the largely unrecognized position.

The unit is tight, with the seniors saying they’re more like brothers than mere teammates. The closeness continues throughout the classes, as the offensive linemen convert each newcomer to the “mentality” and the traditions, including the all-important O-line Thursday night dinner.

“There’s pride taken in how much one can put away,” Mujalli says.

“At the very least, three courses, and some people do dessert,” Traverso says.

“You sometimes get claps for what you end up ordering,” Bakken adds. “We’ll say, ‘Oh! Nice.’”

“One goal is to be stuffed by the time your entrée gets there, which is always good,” Mujalli continues. “Then you have to push through to the end. It’s frowned upon if anyone leaves any food on their plate.”