It is pretty hard to think about the 2023 University of New Haven football team without immediately envisioning Christopher Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) breaking off a long run or his twin brother Christian making a play in the secondary.

However, that is not the only brother tandem on display for the Chargers.

Senior quarterback Jack Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty) and his brother Matt Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./East Coast Prep), a freshman receiver, have been on the field together in multiple games this season. Both of Matt's catches came from quarterback Daelen Menard (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Chaminade Madonna), but perhaps that will change soon.

"I know our first completion is going to come soon," Matt Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./East Coast Prep) said. "It is going to be a good moment for both of us.

While senior John Thomas (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) and graduate student Xavier Bryson (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover / Fork Union Military Acad.) are leaders of the Chargers offensive line, freshmen Dylan and Tyler Kohler (Freehold, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) are expected to be part of the future when it comes to protecting the quarterback and opening up holes for the New Haven running backs.

More often than not, at least one set of brothers is on the team during head coach Chris Pincince's tenure with the Chargers.

Pincince stays away from trying to set up package deals when recruiting football-playing brothers.

"You have to treat them as individuals," Pincince said. "We have been doing it for a long time, we have had eight sets of brothers. You have to treat them as independent recruits and show them that they are important to the program. You can't use the same sales pitch on two different people who are playing different positions. They will see through it, their parents will see through it. You really have to focus on the individual kid."

It is also a good look for the program when a younger brother makes the same college decision as was the case with Matt Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./East Coast Prep) joining his brother on this year's New Haven team.

"It had a huge impact on me wanting to come here because he told me of the rich tradition and history of this program," Matt Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./East Coast Prep) said. "I knew I could come and be a part of something special and something bigger than yourself."

The Chandler brothers never shared the football field in high school because of the age difference so this has been a special year for the entire family as their parents come up from Florida to see them play.

"It has been awesome to have him here and I am really grateful for the opportunity to have him here," Jack Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty) said. "I know my parents love seeing us out there together."

This has been a bit of a trying season for the Ais brothers. While Christian has emerged as a leader on defense for the Chargers, Chris missed four games due to injury.

The brothers leaned on each other when they arrived at New Haven as freshmen and have done the same this season even when both of them weren't playing.

"He is an independent person so I knew he was taking it hard but at the same time, I knew he had to do the recovery for him to come back," Christian Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) said.

Chris Ais did just that with 127 rushing yards in his first game back from injury.

When Chris was sidelined, it did give him more of an opportunity to see his ball-hawking brother in action.

"I was watching my boys Hunter [Cobb] and [Zaon] Laney but on the other side, all of my eyes were on Christian making sure he was doing what he had to do and watching all the big plays that he made," Chris Ais said.

When the Kohler brothers arrived, the Ais brothers were more than willing to offer advice.

"Just stick together, that is all me and Christopher did when we got here," Christian Ais (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) said. "It was definitely a new environment for us but we knew that we had each other and it just turned out fine."

The Kohlers spent their final two seasons at Seton Hall Prep not only as starters but lined up side-by-side on the offensive line with Dylan manning the right guard position and Tyler being the starting right tackle.

They lined up at those same positions during fall camp and in junior varsity games as well and both are hoping that within the next year or two, they will hold down those positions on the New Haven starting offensive line.

"When we visited here, they told us that we have a good chance of playing and we could help the team out," said Dylan Kohler (Freehold, N.J./Seton Hall Prep), who is one year older than his brother. "Coming to college is probably one of the best things we can do because in high school we played the right side of the line junior and senior year so coming to college with him is amazing."

Dylan has made the travel squad as a freshman and Tyler looks to do the same in the near future.

They have credited offensive line coach Walter Kusmirek for helping them make the adjustment from high school to college.

The Kohler brothers came to New Haven weighing 260 pounds. They are both working to add weight to their frames to help them push for starting roles sooner rather than later.

"Coach [Kusmirek] is preparing us for upcoming years and we are going to be ready for it," Tyler Kohler (Freehold, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) said.

New Haven hasn't played since losing at home to Saint Anselm.

The Chargers are one of four teams with just one loss in Northeast-10 play. That will change as Assumption comes to DellaCamera Stadium for a 1 p.m. Saturday kickoff between teams both sitting at 3-1 in NE10 play.

Saint Anselm has the inside track to the NE10 title thanks to wins over Assumption, Bentley and New Haven.

Assumption is the only NE10 team in the regional rankings. New Haven knows that to have any chance to earn at least a share of the conference title and land in the regional rankings, they need to win on Saturday.

"It is definitely a must-win," Jack Chandler (Oviedo, Fla./Hagerty) said. "We need some other stuff to happen but we are focusing on ourselves. We have to control our own business, go out and win this week, and then start preparing for next week."