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There is no Marcus Williams, Christian Pereira no longer dons the number one jersey, and a new number four has taken over, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Brandon McGowan.
With the graduation of such players and the arrival of 29 new faces, the UMaine coaching staff has had some position shifting to do.
“The team has adjusted great,” said junior defensive end Matt King.
As the Black Bears head into game three and begin the Atlantic-10 schedule this Saturday against Richmond, consistency is key for the young team.
“In both games [Nebraska and William Penn] we’ve been able to go through that growth that you need to go through as a team as you build and improve and try to come together,” said Head Coach Jack Cosgrove.
One aspect of the game that is different this season is the implementation of a second quarterback.
Senior Chris Legree has been sharing the reps with Ron Whitcomb, proving to be an effective move for the Black Bears so far this season.
Last week, Legree threw for over 100 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass to Kevin McMahan.
“Chris gives us an added dimension, something that we think helps us as a team,” said Cosgrove. “He has a great ability to run and he can throw the football as you saw Saturday night. That’s a nice accomplishment for him and something we’re hoping to see more of.”
At the tailback position, Montell Owens leads the team with 20 carries for 87 yards, while freshman Jerron Pearson and freshman redshirt Teron Allen have also added depth to the position.
“Montell is ready to be the go-to guy,” said King.
Like UMaine, Richmond also has been using a quarterback platoon system that includes freshman Levi Brown and redshirt freshman Will Healy.
“They are probably striving for a level of consistency on offense as well, in terms of what they’re trying to do,” said Cosgrove.
Stacy Tutt, who served as the Spiders quarterback last season, was moved to a wide receiver.
“I think the difference is, without Tutt at quarterback, they aren’t as freewheeling. He had a running ability at that position that really made you nervous. I haven’t seen that happen for them this year with the quarterbacks that they have,” said Cosgrove.
What Cosgrove has seen from 0-2 Richmond is a tough defensive squad, with several of last year’s players still in tact.
Adam Goloboski and Lance Gray each have 18 tackles and one fumble recovery in thier first two games.
“They gave us fits last year. We were fortunate, we got a late touchdown to beat them,” said Cosgrove.
Arel Gordon returned a kickoff for an 88-yard touchdown to start the second half at Richmond last season. The Spiders held a 25-22 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Black Bears responded when Whitcomb hooked up with tight end Josh Radulski to seal the game with 5:56 to go.
This season, the Spiders defense has given up an average of 13 points per game, losing 19-6 to UMass and 7-0 to Lafayette.
Maine’s defense, led by Jermaine Walker, 20 tackles, and John Wormuth, 14 tackles, blanked William Penn 28-0 last Saturday, while giving up only 25 points and 121 yards rushing, to division 1-A powerhouse Nebraska in its opening game of the season.
“We’re playing faster and I think our front has gotten a lot better from last year,” said Cosgrove. “[Mike] DeVito and [Matt] King are doing a real good job up front.”
The Black Hole defense has encountered a couple of changes from last season, one being the movement of Daren Stone from safety to cornerback.
“So far the changes are working out great. Daren Stone is a lockdown threat at corner, because of his body type he can blanket defenders,” said King.
Jarrod Gomes, who has been plagued with injuries for the past two seasons, has made his way back into the starting lineup.
“He does a tremendous job of tying all things in the back end together as a leader and a take-charge guy in the secondary,” said Cosgrove.
Cosgrove knows the real test starts this weekend, as conference play is what really measures a team’s ability.
“We always enter into this thing thinking about the A10,” he said. “We don’t talk about winning x amount of games, we basically focus on the opportunity that winning that Atlantic 10 provides. It provides you with a chance to keep playing when others aren’t.”
As he has for the past two seasons, Cosgrove predicts that the national champion will once again rise from the Atlantic 10 conference.
