The Band is back together…and just in the nick of time.

For the first time since spring drills, all four starting defensive linemen for Western Michigan University played at the same time this past Saturday when the Broncos went against New Hampshire. Their success showed in a dominating 44-7 victory over the Wildcats.

WMU defensive coordinator Lou Esposito is looking forward to seeing what defensive ends Andre Carter (redshirt junior, 6-5, 263 pounds) and Marshawn Kneeland (redshirt sophomore, 6-3. 275) along with tackles Braden Fiske (redshirt junior, 6-5, 300) and Warren Dabney (graduate, 6-1, 307) can do when the Broncos (2-3, 1-0 MAC) host Eastern Michigan (3-2, 0-1 MAC) on Saturday, starting at noon.

''Literally, last week at practice, when Marshawn came back from his injury, it was the first time all four have been together since spring,'' Esposito said. ''It was good to have him back because what it does is we can put Fiske back inside and now we have a mismatch inside with one of our best players.

''Now Marshawn can be on the end where he is also one of our best players.''

In the win over New Hampshire, Kneeland played almost 50 defensive snaps, getting one solo tackle and five assisted tackles. Two of those tackles were for losses and he also broke up a pass. Fiske had five total tackles, including a sack, Carter added four tackles, including one for a loss of four yards and Dabney, who has fit in seamless after transferring from VMI, had four tackles, including one sack.

For the season, Carter has 28 total tackles, which is third on the team behind linebackers Zaire Barnes and Corvin Moment. Fiske has 27 tackles and Dabney 16. Fiske is WMU's sack leader with 1.5.

The 50 snaps are a lot for any defensive lineman, let alone one who is seeing his first extended action of the season. However, it was something Kneeland wanted to do.

''It was something like 46 snaps I played, but it was my first game back and I wanted to play a lot to get a feeling of how I should feel,'' he said. ''When I was sidelined, it was fun being able to watch my guys make plays, but it's a lot more fun being back.

''I'm getting closer to 100 percent.''

When players who are coming off an injury finally get back into the game, they can't wait for that first contact to see how their body would feel. Kneeland was no different, but it took him a few snaps to really get hit.

''In the first series, they would have an offensive tackle go inside and the tight end go outside, so it was kind of weird that no one hit me,'' he said. ''I didn't really get hit until the third series, then I realized it was going to be good.''

So, it was good news to have Kneeland back, but it was even better for the young defensive ends and tackles to show Esposito what they could do with the veteran being out.

Players like Tyson Lee (6-2, 270), Elijah Hawk (6-3, 265), Joshua Nobles (6-2, 250), Mason Nelson (6-1, 310), Corey Walker (6-5, 270) and Hozey Haji-Badri (6-3, 285) were given valuable snaps. Haji-Badri is a graduate transfer from East Carolina while the others are just redshirt freshmen in their second year at WMU.

Haji-Badri has been in four games with six tackles this season, Nelson has five tackles, Nobles four, Lee two and Hawk one.

''The four redshirt freshmen are halfway through their second year in the program, so them being new is over and they are coming into their own,'' Esposito said. ''They are starting to play at a high level which is awesome because now we can keep guys fresh.''

Ideally, Esposito would like to have his linemen play around 25 to 30 snaps per game, rather than 40 to 50, which is what happened in the 34-13 loss to Pittsburgh when the Panthers basically ran the ball for the entire fourth quarter to put the game away.

''Pitt wore us down and that's on me,'' Esposito said. ''I have to do a better job of rotating those guys.

''The fresher you are, the better you are. The difference between 40 snaps and 25 snaps is huge for a defensive lineman because being fresh, you have more opportunities to make big plays.''

Added Carter: ''I started to see it on Saturday against New Hampshire when I was subbed out early, then the fourth quarter came and I was ready to go and rolling. Those freshmen are probably the best freshman I have seen in my life. They are hard workers and they keep us to a high standard.''

Fiske likes having Kneeland back on the field because it means he can move back inside to tackle instead of playing most of the time at the end.

''I'm in my comfort zone inside, but I can't lie, I like it out at the end because it was a new test and a new challenge,'' he said. ''I got to work from a different leverage standpoint, but now Marshawn is back and it's nice having the four of us together.

''I thought we were pretty disruptive the whole game against New Hampshire, but at the end, we still can be better. I think we have more work to do together and it will show as the season progresses.''

Moving around to show what he can do at multiple positions has already gotten Fiske some attention. The Twitter feed, NFL Draft Diamonds, gave the senior a shout-out for his play a couple of weeks ago.

''It takes a village to make this happen and I appreciate everyone who has been along for the ride, but we still have a lot work to do,'' he said about the national notice. ''I'll worry about the NFL when the time comes because right now we're chasing a MAC Championship.''

And with the band back together, Western Michigan hopes to be playing a sweet tune.