He watched patiently from the sidelines with linemate Joe Ostman. From the bench, the two men anxiously aspired to repeat an act they witnessed over and over again on third down.

The blitz came heavy, and the opposing quarterback went down. The two men slowly developed an appetite for the familiar sound of jubilation, and waited for their chance to spark the pandemonium.

“It’s one of the greatest feelings,” Serpa said. “When you are watching the older guys do it when you come up, you can’t wait to do that. To get the fans going here at Kelly/Shorts is awesome.”

Now Serpa, a senior, and Ostman, a junior, are emulating their role models, serving as inspiration to a younger generation of Chippewa linemen. Just as they were taught, they preach a simple yet vital message.

“We are constantly talking about being aggressive,” Serpa said. “At first, sometimes the freshmen are not getting it. But when they see the upperclassmen flying around it becomes pretty contagious.”

After sitting out CMU's 24-13 loss to Oklahoma State with a hamstring injury, Serpa is ready to take the field on Saturday.

First-year Head Coach John Bonamego said Serpa will be available against Monmouth, but could see limited playing time.

Serpa and Ostman are joined on the 2015 defensive line by junior Jabari Dean and senior Shafer Johnson.

Busting into the backfield last season, Ostman and Serpa combined for 107 tackles and seven sacks while keeping constant pressure on the opposing offense’s playmakers.

“Last season, Joey (Ostman) and I did some things leading by example,” Serpa said. “He’s made huge jumps in what he is doing. People are looking up to him and following him. That’s really helped us.”

CMU’s defensive line lost one of the best nose tackles the program has produced, Leterrius Walton, who was taken in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. This presents an opportunity for the duo and the rest of the unit to make their mark.

“People are talking a lot about what we lost. You can’t replace guys like that,” Ostman said. “But we’ve got a lot of guys that are ready to step up and help this team. Our defense can be just as good or better than last year.”

The Chippewas had the top-ranked defense in terms of yards and touchdowns allowed in the Mid-American Conference in 2014. Their numbers were especially impressive during home games.

Often, the unit was aided by crowd noise, especially during well-attended games against Chattanooga (15,793) and a Homecoming showdown with Ohio (18,223).

“(The big crowds are) what we work for all year,” Ostman said. “Getting the big play and helping our team win is what it is all about.”

Bonamego said he’s counting on the defensive line this season for big production and a tone-setting work ethic.

“Our front will probably be as good as anybody in our conference,” Bonamego said. “We’ve got really good depth on our defensive line, which is critical. We’re very sound. We’ve got a good blitz package. I just see that group as being tenacious and salty.”

Playing against the team’s experienced quarterback Cooper Rush and the Chippewas’ first-team offense in practice has tested the CMU defensive line as they prepare for some of college football’s most elite talent.

“Going against Cooper every day is huge,” Ostman said. “It’s competitive out there. That just makes us more ready for the season.”

On a personal level, the linemen are a close-knit bunch, and use their knowledge of each others playing style, strengths and weaknesses to gain, they hope, a competitive advantage.

“Blake (Serpa) is one of my best friends on the team,” Ostman said. “With all the guys, having a relationship off the field makes things click and flow better. Communication wise, things go a lot more smoothly.

“We know we can trust each other.”