Close combat has fostered deep understanding.

 “You can see the ethic of a man in his eyes when he has to stand up in front of you and he has to go face-to-face with you,” Hodges said.

 Appreciation has come, too.

 “[Toner] comes to fight,” Hodges said. “I respect anyone with that kind of work ethic.”

 Coaches limit Hodges’ reps against other linemen for fear of injury and embarrassment, but letting him go against Toner benefits both.

 Watching from a couple spots down the line, senior center Nick Easton has seen the two improve through competition. He himself benefitted from facing current Indianapolis Colt Nnamdi Obukwelu ’14 and is now one of the team’s most NFL-ready players, along with Hodges.

 Toner has NFL ambitions too, if he is able to stay healthy and improve over the next two years. Holding his own against Hodges one-on-one while watching other teams struggle to double and triple-team the end gives Toner confidence about his future.

The pair’s struggle is made more compelling by their opposing personalities.

 Hodges, raised in Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., “has a really fierce demeanor that obviously all the great defensive football players really have,” Murphy said.

 Toner, meanwhile, from an Indiana town of 50,000 “is very laid back,” his coach said. “He’s not terribly demonstrative.”

 Contradictory demands of offensive and defensive linemen make that dichotomy common, Murphy said.

“I think there’s a lot more technique involved in playing the offensive line, where you are running a set play every time,” he said. “The defensive mentality of just turning it loose doesn’t always facilitate great offensive line play. It’s a combination of culture, personalities, and just the nature of offense versus defense.”

 Toner and Hodges represent that conflict. They stand in for two cultures, two styles, two sides of a football team. Yet, they stand just inches apart before the snap, and they share a common mission. They push each other, but they also push each other. Each wants to get better. Each wants to win.

 Hodges is clear about his motivation.

“I believe perfection is possible,” he said. “And I think that’s really the only thing worth striving for.”

 Before Hodges gets there, though, he has to get by Toner.

—Staff writer Jacob D. H. Feldman can be reached at jacob.feldman@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @jacobfeldman4.