ORONO — His offense has been stuck in neutral for most of the season, and an injury has thrust a true freshman into the role of starting quarterback. Yet Kevin Bourgoin insists he’s still excited about what the final five games hold for the Maine football team.
“It’s not trying at all. It’s been fun. Everybody thinks it’s been hard,” said Bourgoin, in his eighth season as the offensive coordinator for the Black Bears (2-4, 1-2 Colonial Athletic Association). “I’m a realist. I knew coming into the season that I was going to have two new tackles, a new quarterback, a new tight end. There’s a frustration because I’m a competitor. I want to win. I want us to score points. But you also have to realize where you’re at. This is who you are.”
Maine enters Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. homecoming game against Albany (4-2, 1-2) averaging only 14 points per game, with a dismal 16 percent conversion rate on third down and a string of second-half disappointments out of its offense. And a separated shoulder to sophomore quarterback Dan Collins means Drew Belcher will be under center for the rest of the season, barring injury or extreme ineffectiveness.
Bourgoin said it’s his least productive offense since his first year as coordinator, in 2007. But he is convinced it’s because of youth, not lack of talent.
“Everybody looks at the final product and the results on the scoreboard. There’s that part and that is important, and the wins and losses are, too,” he said. “But there’s also individual battles that you see when you’re watching film and the growth of guys. You can see improvement.”
Maine is coming off perhaps its worst half of football – the second half of last Saturday’s 19-7 loss at Stony Brook. The Black Bears were shut out, and Collins landed hard on his shoulder while throwing away a pass.
It was the third scoreless second half of the season for the Black Bears, who have managed only 17 points after intermission. When opposing defenses make halftime adjustments, the offense can’t keep pace, Bourgoin said. A team that could start six freshmen this week (Belcher, Nigel Beckford at tailback, Jared Osumah at wide receiver, and Isaiah Brooks, Daniel Burrows and Jamil Demby on the line) is too limited.
“We can’t do a lot on offense because our guys aren’t ready to handle a lot,” Bourgoin said. “For me to think we can run the same offense we ran last year (when Maine finished 10-3), that’s not going to happen yet.
“If I try to do that with our guys, there’d be meltdowns. I’m constantly scaling back the game plan. What we’re doing on offense is probably 20 percent of what we did last year, in terms of concepts, the schemes.”
Belcher has played in four games, completing 6 of 18 passes while carrying the ball 18 times for 8 yards. That experience will be beneficial, but Bourgoin is also optimistic because Belcher is not a typical freshman.
“He picked up our offense faster than any first-year quarterback that I’ve coached here,” Bourgoin said.
It helps that Belcher, surprisingly agile for someone who stands 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, ran the same style of offense at Reading (Massachusetts) Memorial High School. It was there that he caught Maine’s eye because of his ability and also his confidence. He was looking to go to a college where he could compete for the starting job from the outset. He found that in Orono, even though Collins beat him out during August training camp. Belcher was so impressive that Maine took pains to develop him as a potential starter.
Head Coach Jack Cosgrove believes that will pay off Saturday, and going forward.
“He’s gotten a chance to be in the heat of battle. I liked what I saw; he took charge,” Cosgrove said. “I saw a guy who seemed like he was in command and tried to do the things that we coached him to do.”
Belcher will be the first true freshman quarterback to start at Maine since Jake Eaton in 1999, Cosgrove said. His biggest adjustment will be taking every snap instead of just playing every third series. He won’t have time to digest everything that just happened, but will need to be ready to head right back onto the field when the Black Bears get the ball back.
“The game has kind of slowed down for me,” said Belcher, who will have parents and grandparents on hand Saturday to witness his starting debut. “As you go on, you kind of realize that what you’re seeing in practice is what you’re getting in games. Defensive recognition, I’ve gotten a lot better at.”
Although the statistics don’t bear it out yet, Bourgoin said Belcher has also made big improvements as a passer. The coach has tinkered with his mechanics to prevent his deep passes from tailing off, a result of not getting over his front foot.
Albany leads the CAA with 18 takeaways and will be looking to make life rough for Belcher. Stony Brook’s pressure and exotic schemes overwhelmed Maine a week ago. The Great Danes are more straightforward about what they do.
“They’ve struggled to move the ball consistently, but they have shown flashes and this is a big football game for them,” Albany Coach Greg Gattuso said. “We’re not a defense that’s as physically imposing as Stony Brook, so I think they’re probably optimistic that they’re going to be able to have success offensively this week.”
Belcher senses the same thing. It will be up to him to make it happen.
“We haven’t gotten the job done yet. But we’re close,” he said. “There’s definitely a sense of urgency. We know what we can do. We’ve just got to go out and do it.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
