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When Jhamal Fluellen stepped back onto the field on Homecoming weekend against Northeastern University, the senior tailback from Lockport, N.Y., had beaten the odds.
More than a month after he suffered a neck injury at Richmond, it was believed the University of Maine football star might never step foot onto the field again. Just three games later, he was back on the turf at Alfond Stadium.
“I just kept my hopes high,” said the Black Bears’ co-captain. “I felt like I was going to be back on the field; I just didn’t know when.”
UMaine’s leader looks to take another step forward on Saturday when he leads the Black Bears into Alfond Stadium for the last time on Senior Day against the University of New Hampshire. UMaine attempts to not only win back the “Brice-Cowell Musket” from archrival and nationally ranked University of New Hampshire, but also to win the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) North Division and secure a playoff berth.
For Fluellen, it will be an emotional day as his struggles go back before his injury this season, as there was a long road before he reached the Orono campus.
After starring for coach Mike Finn at Lockport High School, Fluellen took his talents about 150 miles down the road to Syracuse University where he had earned a football scholarship.
In 2004, the Orangeman freshman didn’t even touch the practice field. Team doctors found during a routine physical that he suffered from Wolfe-Parkinson White Syndrome, a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat.
A few months later, the 19-year-old underwent a procedure to correct the problem, but Syracuse wouldn’t let him play football due to liability issues.
For the next year and a half, Fluellen was out of school. After he made an attempt at the University of Buffalo in 2005, and was declined due to medical concerns, Fluellen took a job as a seafood cook at a local Long John Silvers, making minimum wage.
“Basically, it taught me a lot,” Fluellen said. “You can’t take anything for granted and anything can happen at any given point in time.”
Luckily for Fluellen, he had people in his corner.
A friend and former high school teammate of Fluellen’s was Daren Stone. The All-American safety for the Black Bears still had a connection with Fluellen and brought his friend’s situation to the attention of the coaches at UMaine. Finn, the pair’s former coach at Lockport got involved and contacted Cosgrove.
“All I could really say to Mike is we know he’s a good football player, but I’m not a doctor,” the 16-year coach said.
“Our doctors looked at it, and after a consult with his doctor at home, there was no reason he couldn’t continue to play football.”
In 2006, Fluellen came to Orono and with it, he started a new life.
“The feeling that I had, I can’t put into words,” Fluellen said. “Like I always tell everybody, it’s just a blessing from God. I was out and didn’t know if I’d be able to play again.”
That fall marked the first time Fluellen had played full-time football since his high school days in 2003. Behind all-conference tailback Arel Gordon, the sophomore played as a wide receiver and got some snaps in the backfield.
Gordon graduated that year, and in 2007, Fluellen burst onto the scene as the feature back, rushing for 1,052 yards and five touchdowns on his way to CAA-Third-Team honors.
The 5-foot-9, 186-pounder came into the 2008 season as a preseason All-CAA pick and picked up right where he left off with three-straight games with more than 100 yards rushing.
The small, agile back had offseason shoulder surgery, then got injured on Sept. 20. In his absence, the Black Bears turned to a more power style running game with bruising redshirt freshmen Derek Session (70 carries, 319 yards, four touchdowns) and Jared Turcotte (70 car., 461 yards, four TD) along with junior quarterback Michael Brusko (71 car., 306 yards, three TD).
When Fluellen returned on Oct. 25, he was no longer the feature back. He was sharing time with Session and Turcotte as well as true freshman Pushaun Brown (35 car., 214 yards, one TD). He was also lining up at wide receiver, a role similar to his first year at UMaine.
“The thing that we’re trying to do now is take advantage of his ability,” Cosgrove said, “but do so in such a way that we can maximize what he can do on the field . keep him healthy and keep winning as a team.”
Despite excelling as the feature back, the leader of the Black Bears was ready and willing to take a back seat for team success.
“We have an expression around here, ‘Team isn’t thinking less of yourself, but it’s thinking more of yourself less,’” Cosgrove said. “That’s something that our players have embraced.”
While Fluellen (101 car., 507 yards, two TD) has excelled on the field, the child development and family relations major is expected to graduate in May. With his degree, he plans to work with troubled adolescents and get their lives back on track.
Despite the ups-and-downs, Fluellen has achieved more than many can hope for and is grateful to those who have helped him along the way.
“I definitely credit my success to my mother [Deneen Fluellen] and also my high school coach because they were the ones that were really by my side through the whole thing.”
Professional football is also an avenue Fluellen hopes to pursue, but if that doesn’t work out, then he will fall back on his degree.
Right now, he is not focused too far in the future as he and his Black Bear teammates have their eyes on the week’s current opponent. UMaine (8-3, 5-2 CAA) is riding a six-game winning streak after a 37-7 drubbing of the University of Rhode Island and sit tied for first in the CAA North Division with UNH (8-2, 5-2). The Wildcats are coming off a 52-21 blowout win over the University of Massachusetts.
With the playoffs in sight and a national championship as the ultimate goal of all the players, Fluellen’s career will be marked by perseverance that has garnered the respect of teammates and coaches.
“I think it says a lot about him, the person and the football player,” reflected senior linebacker Andrew Downey. “It should tell anyone outside the program why he’s the captain.”
“I know one of the most impressive things I’ve witnessed here is his growth as a young man and a leader and his impact on his teammates,” Cosgrove said. “He got a second opportunity and made the most of it.”
Fluellen thanks UMaine for giving him the opportunity, and with a win Saturday, it would punch the Black Bears ticket to the Football Championship Series (FCS) playoffs. It would be their first appearance in the postseason since 2002.
A playoff berth would be more than enough for an expression of gratitude.
