COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Barrett Van Deun still remembers his first impression of Michael Bougie – the guy who would become his fellow starter on the Saint John's offensive line and one of his best friends on campus. 

It came during the first team dinner of fall camp his freshman season in 2023. 

"I walked in and saw this 6-foot-5 guy with a beard," Van Deun said of his 300-pound fellow senior. 

"I thought he had to be one of the seniors on the team that season, and maybe even had kids of his own already! I was actually frightened when I heard he was a freshman like me. I didn't know if I'd get a chance to play in college with dudes like that around." 

Bougie, though, was equally impressed by the 6-foot-2, 290-pound Van Deun, who came to SJU from Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska. 

"That's a pretty football-crazy state," said Bougie, himself a graduate of St. Paul's tradition-rich Cretin Derham Hall High School. "All I knew was that he must be pretty good if they recruited him to come all the way here." 

As it turned out, both players were spot-on in their initial assessments. Bougie has gone on to become a three-year starter at offensive tackle who earned All-MIAC and all-region honors a year ago and was named to the D3football.com preseason Division III All-American team this past summer. 

Van Deun, meanwhile, is a two-year starter at center who earned All-MIAC honors himself last season. 

"Boug is a guy who's hearing from NFL teams and he's going to have a chance to play at the next level," Johnnies offensive line coach Mike Magnuson said. "And Barrett has a chance to be an All-American center this season. They're definitely our two leaders up front. 

"They're both great students and hard workers. They motivate each other and keep each other honest." 

That chemistry no doubt springs from the fact the two became close friends from the very start of their time on campus. 

"I was surprised to find out he lived on the same floor I did freshman year," recalled Bougie who, like Van Deun, is majoring in accounting. "We hit it off from there. We were both offensive linemen and we were going to the same place every day. So we started going together and found out we had a lot in common. 

"We both love hunting and fishing. We both love country music. We kind of instantly bonded." 

That friendship was important to Van Deun, who was adjusting to college life a pretty fair distance from home. 

"I'm lucky enough to be blessed with parents who make it up to every home game and come see me pretty often even when the season is over," said Van Deun, whose mother Jona is a 1992 College of Saint Benedict graduate. 

"But especially during my first couple years here, there were times it could be a little hard to be so far away. I remember during spring football my freshman year, I couldn't make it home for Easter. Michael and his family were so kind to open their home to me. 

"Now it's become a tradition," he continued. "I go there every Easter." 

But as much as they share in common, the two also have different personality traits that balance each other out. 

"Barrett is more level-headed and I can be more high-strung," Bougie said. "We're kind of each other's yin and yang. There was a game at Gustavus last season (a 31-13 SJU victory) when I wasn't playing too hot. I let up my first-and-only sack of the season and I was pretty irked about it. I was down on myself and Barrett was there to pick me up. 

"He reminded me I was a great football player, told me to shake it off and to go out and get them the next play. That's just what I needed in that moment." 

That moral support network works both ways. 

"Boug gets a little more fired-up than I do during games and there are times I need that," Van Deun said. "Every now and then, I have a tendency to overthink things – protections or the opponent we're facing. That's when he comes in and gives me an ego boost. He'll tell me I'm the best center in Division III and not to doubt myself. He reminds me what I'm capable of." 

That ceiling is definitely high. The pair – along with fellow returning starter Mikey Oftedahl, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound junior tackle – form the core of an offensive line that allowed only seven sacks a year ago (and only five when the starting group was in the game). 

"We take a lot of pride in that," said Van Deun, whose team has yet to allow a sack this season as well. "We love to be tested. The best feeling I've had here has come after games like (a 24-21 season-opening victory over) Wisconsin-La Crosse. Games where we had to grind it out the whole time but came out on top in the end." 

"We welcome the chance to go up against the best competition because that gives us another chance to prove to them how good we are," added Bougie, an exceptional cook as his roommates – Van Deun included – will readily attest to. 

"Our goal every week is to move people off the line of scrimmage. This is a really talented offensive line and we're confident in our own abilities no matter who we're going against."