"Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going. Where they've been."

- Forrest Gump

FAYETTE - Take one peek at their shoes during a team meeting and the differences are overwhelming.

Jerad Jandrain is in tennis shoes. Ervin Kehoss is sporting cowboy boots. Justice Clegg is wearing moccasins. Curtis Goddard is donning sandals. Louis Kuisle is in work boots.

While there is a stark contrast in appearance, background and personality, the five Upper Iowa University offensive linemen have become inseparable.

"When we go on road trips, we sit together, eat together, our lockers are together," Clegg said. "In the offseason, we hang out together. It's like five brothers hanging out with each other."

"You won't see any one of them by themselves, and that's a positive in my book," offensive line coach Derek Moore said.

Jandrain, Kehoss and Kuisle hail from the upper Midwest. Goddard was raised in Naples, Fla., before moving to Iowa in high school, and Clegge comes from California.

Jandrain enjoys hunting. Clegge is into skateboarding.

"We're definitely all unique in our own way," said Goddard, a junior center. "There's a different mix of power and speed, but the blend fits together like a puzzle."

According to head coach Mike Knoll, the five are the strength of the Peacocks' football team.

The numbers indicate that.

Last year, the Peacocks averaged nearly 180 yards per game on the ground - among the best in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

This season, UIU is averaging 172.5 rushing yards per contest, 4.2 yards per carry and has surrendered only one sack in games to Drake and the University of Mary.

"If you've got guys up front that can move people and create some seams, that's a plus," Knoll said. "We're certainly going to jump on those five guys' back up front and ride them."

That hasn't always been the case at UIU.

Prior to Moore's arrival three years ago, the Peacocks yielded 40 sacks in 2005 and barely eclipsed 100 yards per game on the ground.

"Guys didn't really know how to play the position," Jandrain said. "More or less, it was just throwing guys out there."

"When I got here, we were the smallest, shortest and youngest offensive line in the conference," Moore said. "That's kind of a deadly combination."

But a commitment to the weight room, more emphasis on technique and better communication has helped the Peacocks become a threat in the trenches.

After a sub-par performance in the opening week against Drake, UIU registered 227 yards rushing and three scoring drives that chewed up more than five minutes of clock versus Mary.

"The first game, we looked scared like a deer in the headlights," Moore said. "We weren't very cohesive with our calls, but last week we went back to basics.

"It just clicked for them. The two things we've really talked about is communicating better and finishing our blocks better. We did that well last week, and hopefully it keeps up this week."

Experience has paid dividends, too. All five have been in the program for at least three years, and all five are at least 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds.

"Like Coach Moore says, 'Once you have 11 pelts under your belt, you're going to be better,'" Goddard said.

Aside from Jandrain, a senior left tackle, the entire group returns in 2009.

"It's hard to trust someone when you've only played next to them for one or two games," Clegg said. "When it's your second and third seasons together, you know exactly what each other does, and the bond is going to be even closer."

It's already one giant family.

"They're a bunch of clowns," Moore quipped. "I love being around them. I have a one-year-old at home and coach 15 offensive linemen. It's like I have 16 sons.

"Each one of them is different, but collectively it's a great group."

Contact Matt Coss at (319) 291-1468 or matt.coss@wcfcourier.com

Improving in the trenches

Here's a look at Upper Iowa's improvement on the offensive line, in relation to sacks allowed and rushing yards per game:

Season Sacks Rushing/game

* 2008 1 172.5

2007 21 179.1

2006 29 140.7

2005 40 101.0

2004 31 107.0

2003 33 111.2

2002 22 110.2

2001 22 85.0

* through two games