ORONO – Jojo Oliphant can’t envision himself working for someone else once he graduates from the University of Maine. He would prefer to be his own boss, managing a restaurant or hotel.

In the meantime, the business management major has established that he’s the boss on the Black Bears’ defensive line.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound junior has worked hard to establish himself as a dominating defensive end. Oliphant continues to take charge up front, where he has emerged as Maine’s defensive catalyst.

In the Bears’ hard-charging defensive scheme, the ends are responsible for stopping the outside run and getting to the quarterback. It’s a role that suits Oliphant well.

“[The coaches] don’t want us to sit around and just read what the offense is doing. They want us to attack and be relentless, get after people,” Oliphant said.

Oliphant has successfully done that, recording 8 1/2 quarterback sacks to lead Division I-AA in that category. He registered 3 1/2 sacks Oct. 3 in Maine’s win over then-No. 4 Villanova, but has been hampered in recent weeks by a strained left knee.

“He’s as tough as we’ve got in terms of playing with pain,” said Maine coach Jack Cosgrove. “He’s about as active a guy as we have defensively.”

Making a sack is perhaps the most fun, and noticeable, aspect of Oliphant’s job.

“For me, it’s pretty exciting because I know that I just beat my guy and stopped the quarterback from doing something that he wanted to do, like possibly throwing a touchdown,” said Oliphant, who ranks eighth on the squad with 32 tackles and boasts two forced fumbles, a blocked kick, and two pass breakups.

Oliphant was a fullback and linebacker at Valhalla High School in North White Plains, N.Y., then during his postgraduate year at Bridgton Academy. The UMaine staff recognized his potential as a defensive end when they recruited him.

“Jojo’s kind of become the big-play guy, the catalyst,” Cosgrove said. “He’s a real leader of our defense, a kid that guys look up to. He’s an intense kid. He plays with a great deal of energy and flies around.”

Learning to start in a three-point stance and taking on beefy offensive linemen were the two biggest challenges for Oliphant in learning the position, but he appears to have caught on nicely. He said springing out of the stance quickly is another key skill defensive ends need.

“It’s a mixture of quickness and strength,” Oliphant said. “I think most of the time I’m outweighed by 30-50 pounds by the [offensive] tackles, so I have to be quicker than them. Once they get their hands on me, I have to be strong enough to knock their hands off and go make a play.”

Oliphant, who is a member of the Bears’ punt and kickoff return teams, sometimes has special duty in goal-line situations. Because of his size and agility, he has been utilized as a tight end and fullback.

Against Connecticut, he even caught a 4-yard touchdown pass.

What Oliphant wants more than anything is for Maine to shake off the back-to-back losses to Rhode Island and Richmond and finish this season strong. The first step is Saturday’s game at James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va.

“By getting wins, hopefully that will bring more people to the school so that this place will be more like a Villanova, that caliber team,” he said.