Last season, when one looked at the McNeese State offensive line, an old commercial question from the 1980s came to mind: Where’s the beef?

That is for those who remember such times.

Undersized and with little depth, the Cowboys’ offensive front was more often than not overmatched. The group was good at opening running holes but could not protect the quarterback.

Two of the four McNeese quarterbacks were injured and all were constantly harassed. Quarterbacks were sacked a whopping 41 times for 286 yards.

“Not all of that was on the offensive line,” McNeese head coach Gary Goff is quick to say. “Some was on the quarterbacks, some on the receivers. Still, we have to do a better job protecting the quarterback.”

With that in mind, the Cowboys went to work in the weight room. This year Goff says they are much bigger and have much more depth.

The days of being forced to start walk-on true freshmen in Southland Conference games appear to be over.

“We really worked hard over the offseason,” Goff said. “We wanted to be more physical and we added size both with the new guys we and the ones who are back.”

McNeese returns four offensive linemen who earned letters last season. That includes Dylan Dauzart (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) and Cole LeClair (6-3, 311). Dauzart is a junior while LeClair is a sophomore.

The two are expected to start at the guard positions and were named to the SLC preseason second team.

“We are going to be strong inside the line,” Goff said. “We have good battles to see who will start at the tackles and at center. I like this group.”

Also back are Chris Stephens (6-4, 334, Jr.), James Reddick (6-3, 320, So.) and Hezekiah Neason (6-4, 323, Jr.).

There are also 10 other offensive linemen on the McNeese roster, giving the Cowboys depth they haven’t had in at least six seasons with this group.

“We had to go out and get more linemen,” Goff said. “We wanted to bring in size. We just weren’t that big last year and we didn’t have the numbers. We got worn down at times.”

Of the 15, 11 tip the scales about or more than 300 pounds.

“As a group, they worked really hard on their conditioning,” Goff said. “The offensive line is enormous right now. We have got a lot of talent and it is big.”

That fact has been noticed by others.

Junior running back D’angelo Durham mentioned it during SLC Media Day on Monday.

“Those guys are big,” he said. “I’m looking forward to running behind them. It should be exciting. I can’t wait.”

Jasper Friis, a 6-6, 330-pound transfer from Jackson State is one of the new guys who looks to fit in. Two other transfers are Elijah Melendez (6-5, 297) from Valdosta State and David Duvall (6-2, 305) out of Northwest Mississippi Community College.

All three are part of Goff’s massive 22 juniors he brought in.

“With only four seniors and a junior class that was much like that, we had to bring in some people who have played some football,” Goff said.

An interesting addition is massive freshman Jamall Franklin, who is every bit his listed 6-7, 320. Franklin was a late addition to the recruiting class, picking McNeese over Houston at the end.

There is also a group of players who were forced to play last year before they might have been ready. In the end that playing time could be a benefit to the Cowboys as they look to make what was a weakness last fall and turn it into a strength.

“If we want to be a more explosive offense, it has to start up front,” Goff said.

Keeping McNeese quarterbacks off their backs will be a key to this season. It was one of the major downfalls last year.

Goff said he hopes a physical offensive line can set the tone for a more physical team overall. And a little nastiness with that size wouldn’t hurt either.