ORONO – Opposing offenses facing the University of Maine’s defensive line will have their hands full this year facing an animal on the inside and a monster on the outside.

And that’s before they even get to the All-American.

Jonathan Pirruccello and Jordan Stevens are the animal and monster in question. Jovan Belcher, who will start on the opposite side from Stevens at defensive end, is the aforementioned All-American and the Colonial Athletic Conference’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He’s also the one touting his fellow linemen for their ferocity and determination.

“‘Pooch’ is just an animal on the inside,” Belcher said, referring to Pirruccello by his nickname. “He just destroys stuff on the inside, and he’s fast. I think he surprises a lot of offensive linemen because they think that they’re just going to push him around. But once we get into a play, they think they’ve got him, and he just disappears on them.”

“‘Pooch’ is an animal, but I say Jordan is a monster. He still surprises me every time he steps on the field,” he added. “He learns some things from me, but I’m learning some moves from him.”

Belcher will garner most of the attention in the trenches this year, but any offensive line that turns its back on one or both of the Maine natives to protect itself more from Belcher will be making a big mistake, even though Pirruccello and Stevens are both relative newcomers to their respective positions.

Pirruccello, a 2005 Leavitt graduate, is in his second year starting on the nose. He moved there last year after spending his high school and college careers at defensive end and finished with 40 tackles, six of those for a loss.

Pirruccello figured his experience playing on the outside, plus his athleticism and 6-foot-3, 251-pound frame, would keep him there. But the adjustment to moving inside came surprisingly easy, he said, in part because many of Maine’s opponents used zone blocking schemes last season.

“I thought I’d be tangled up head-on with a lot of offensive linemen trying to pancake me, but there was a lot of side-to-side and using my quickness and leverage,” Pirruccello said. “I’m pretty light, but as long as I get to play with a little leverage, it’s fine.”

Pirruccello saw his playing time steadily increase from his freshman year to his junior campaign. He came to Maine on a partial scholarship and earned a full scholarship by playing in 14 games over his first two years.

In fact, Maine coach Jack Cosgrove said Pirruccello’s college career path is comparable to current New York Jets defensive lineman Mike DeVito, whose Maine number 90 was passed down to him.

“The only difference that I see between Jon Pirruccello and Mike DeVito, and it’s unfortunate, is that we got to redshirt Mike DeVito. We didn’t get to redshirt Jon Pirruccello, so Jon doesn’t have that one more year,” Cosgrove said.

Pirruccello has followed DeVito’s example in his strength and conditioning work as much as anything else, but he didn’t focus as much on bulking up this year as he did during previous off-seasons. He spent the summer in Orono and put back on the 10 pounds he lost during last season, but he focused mostly on speed, quickness and technique.

Playing the “tilted nose”, where he’s angled in at the center, it’s just as important to emphasize those attributes as size and strength, he said.

“That helps a lot with leverage. If the center tries to reach-block, you have a lot more leverage,” he said. “My job is to basically stay in that gap and open up holes for the linebackers to run through and make the big plays.”

One of those linebackers making the big plays used to be Stevens. The Mt. Blue and Bridgton Academy product started 10 of 11 games during his sophomore season at the “rover” linebacker, where he ranked fourth on the team with 69 tackles (five for a loss) and two sacks.

Maine has had a history of taking linebackers and putting their hand on the ground. Another Bridgton Academy alum, Jojo Oliphant, was the Black Bears’ top defensive lineman in the late 1990s after making the change. More recently, All-American Matt King and current defensive captain Belcher have moved up to the line of scrimmage.

“If Jordan follows the same path as those others, he’s going to be an outstanding player in this conference,” Cosgrove said. “He already is a heck of a football player, but I’m talking about the Jovan Belcher type of player. He took very well to the position in the spring. He’s gotten bigger, faster and stronger.”

Belcher made the same move two years ago and had an immediate impact, leading the conference with 10 sacks. He believes Stevens is capable of making the same transition.

“The biggest thing is when you’re at linebacker, you can see the whole field,” Belcher said. “When you get in the trenches, it’s a lot more contact. The steps are shorter. It’s a lot more hitting and you’ve got to make faster decisions. I would say mentally and physically, it’s a lot tougher, but he can do it.”

The 6-foot-2, 242 pound Stevens got his feet wet at end during spring football.

“It’s gone well. I played pretty well in spring ball and I’m just trying to carry that over to the season and get better,” Stevens said. “It’s definitely different not being able to see what’s not going on so much. I’m still working on pass rushing and trying to get better at it. It’s a big adjustment compared to linebacker in terms of technique and speed and knowing where to be.”

He said he’s glad he has Pirruccello next to him to help him figure that out, though the nose tackle doesn’t think he’ll need much assistance.

“Maybe the first week. He picks up on things so quick and he’s such a natural athlete, he does it on his own,” Pirruccello said. “He’s just a powerful, explosive player, so he’s going to be good wherever he plays on defense. He’s got a lot of determination and his work ethic is one of the best. It’s exciting to be playing right next to him.”