With powerhouse tailback Royston English having departed after four seasons at the University of Maine, one of the primary focuses for coach Jack Cosgrove has been to find a dependable successor.

Not even three weeks into the 2002 season, the sixth-ranked Black Bears appear to have filled the void successfully.

Marcus Williams walked onto the UMaine campus in 2001 expecting he would be redshirted. When English experienced migraine headaches and backup Jim Henry went down with a shoulder injury in preseason, the door was open for Williams.

He wound up playing in 10 games, carrying only 33 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns. But the backup role prepared him for his present duty as the Bears’ starting tailback.

Williams, a 5-foot-10, 225-pounder from Amherst, Mass., has picked up right where English left off. He has opened the season with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games, netting 104 yards on 14 carries against Central Connecticut, then gaining 135 yards on 26 attempts in the win over William & Mary.

That makes Williams only the third player in UMaine history to start the season with consecutive 100-yard games. He joins Ben Sirmans (1992) and Ed Bogdanovich (1951, 1952) in that select company.

Talk in the UMaine preseason camp was Williams would battle for the starting job with sophomores Henry and Onyi Momah. Williams, who was the frontrunner coming out of spring ball, has emerged quickly as the No. 1 tailback.

Even so, Williams is convinced he isn’t be a one-man show in the UMaine backfield.

“We have three very talented backs and we’ve got a rotation, so everybody’s going to play,” Williams said. “It’s not just me out there. Jimmy and Onyi play, too, and they’re capable of doing the same things I do.”

Henry and Momah have combined for 14 carries.

UM’s Picard coming off surgery

UMaine catcher Alain Picard is expected to be relegated to designated hitter duties next spring after undergoing right elbow surgery this summer.

Picard, a senior from Ste.-Foy, Quebec, has experienced problems with the elbow for the last two years. He wound up having flare-ups during the Bears’ drive to the America East championship and the NCAA Tourney.