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ORONO – It was a bitter pill the University of Maine football team swallowed last fall in choking down an injury-plagued, 3-8 season.
A new year, however, is a new beginning and as the 100th edition of Black Bears football team takes to the gridiron on Saturday on the first official day of practice, the players involved are looking for redemption.
“The overall attitude is that we just want to be back out there and play,” said senior quarterback Jeff DelRosso, who was at the helm of the UMaine team at the start of last season. “We’ve got a bad taste in our mouth from last year. We just want to get on the field and put it behind us.”
“We’re anxious to begin,” said Maine’s second-year coach Kirk Ferentz. “The players have reported and they look to be in pretty good shape. We were selected to finish eighth in the league and I don’t blame anybody for putting us there. I think, on paper, that’s a just ranking. But, I think we’re a little bit better than some people think we are.”
As the Black Bears take the field on Saturday at 3:15 p.m., Ferentz and his coaching staff will have one major question to answer before the team’s opening kickoff on Sept. 7 against Villanova:
Who will be the team’s starting quarterback?
“It’s an obvious starting point for the fans and for us,” said Ferentz said. “It’s a position we’re concerned about to a certain degree. The good news is that we know a lot more about (the quarterbacks) than we did a year ago.”
Ferentz says that true sophomore Bob Zurinskas is the No. 1 man at this point of the season with senior DelRosso not far behind.
It’s a situation both players are taking in stride, saying the competition between them will only make the team better.
“It all starts with the quarterback and if Jeff and I are battling hard then I’m sure the team will work hard, too,” said Zurinskas, who quarterbacked two of Maine’s three wins last year. “I know that Jeff and I are going to be working our (butts) off.”
“It’s very competitive,” DelRosso said. “It pushes me and I’m sure it pushes him. Hopefully, the team will make out in the long run. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
As the quarterbacks battle for the starting job, the coaches will be looking to make the team’s strong point even better.
“If we’re going to have success, we’re going to have to run the ball well,” Ferentz said. “It’s something we’ve got build around.”
With the likes of All-American Carl Smith, Paul Capriotti, Ben Sirmans, and Marc Curran – all returning veterans – in the backfield, Ferentz says, “it’s obviously our strength.”
Ferentz also said that key points will be in the secondary – where three of the four defensive backs graduated – and the offensive line.
Regardless, however, most of the Maine team feels that the 1991 squad will be better than last year’s.
“The major part of it is we’ve got a bunch of winners up here,” said Capriotti, who along with nose guard Brian Roche will co-captain the team this season. “Anytime you get a group like that together, it’s a good situation.”
UMaine schedule
Sept. 7 Villanova Sept. 14 Northeastern Sept. 21 Massachusetts Sept. 28 At New Hampshire Oct. 5 Richmond Oct. 12 At Rutgers Oct. 19 At Rhode Island Oct. 26 Connecticut Nov. 2 At Delaware Nov. 9 At Boston Univ. Nov. 16 Towson State
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