Marcus Williams may be only four games into his junior season, but he must be considered a threat to eventually challenge the University of Maine’s all-time rushing record.

The most recent evidence of Williams’ potential was Saturday night’s 24-14 victory over Florida International. The 5-foot-10, 227-pound tailback from Amherst, Mass., romped for 159 yards on 26 carries, moving into eighth place on the Black Bear career rushing list with 2,005 yards.

Williams is averaging a conference-best 142 yards per game and six yards per carry this season with three touchdowns and appears to be an even more effective ballcarrier than last season, when his 1,406 rushing yards led the Atlantic 10.

Rest assured Williams isn’t deluded by his success and reaching the 2,000-yard plateau.

“That’s just a credit to my teammates and my coaches,” said the soft-spoken Williams, who was forced into the lineup as a true freshman in 2001.

“My teammates have been doing a great job blocking for me ever since I’ve been running the ball,” Williams said. “The offensive line, they don’t get the credit they deserve, and the fullbacks; the receivers and the quarterbacks in the passing game opening it up so we can run the ball; and the coaches always having supported me, giving me the ball 20-25 times a game.”

Williams, who was primarily a straight-ahead power runner last season, has added some shifty moves to his repertoire. Plus, offensive coordinator Bobby Wilder has tweaked the offense a bit to allow Williams to take advantage of his field vision skills.

Against FIU, Williams took the handoff on a draw play, cut to the left, hurdled a would-be tackler and motored 36 yards for a first down with the Bears facing 3rd-and-36.

While he carried the ball only 33 times as a freshman, Williams is in his second season as UMaine’s primary tailback. The Bears use a rotation system that gives Williams a break every third series and inserts backup Onyi Momah into the lineup.

Even so, Williams could be on a record pace. Assuming he remains healthy, Williams should have at least 20 more games in a UMaine uniform. He would need to average a shade more than 91 yards per game over that span to overtake Lorenzo Bouier (3,828 yards from 1979-82) as the school’s all-time leading rusher.

Through 27 career games, Williams has averaged 74.3 yards per contest. The number increases to 107.8 ypg in his last 17 games as the starter.

UMaine rookies making impact

It has become common the last couple of years for freshmen to not only get playing time, but to play key roles for the UMaine football team.

The most recent examples are Bears’ rookies Manauris Arias and Arel Gordon.

Arias has been thrust into a starting role at cornerback as UMaine contends with a handful of injuries in the secondary. The 5-foot-8, 160-pounder out of Union City, N.J., has been steady in back-to-back games.

Against Florida International, Arias made four tackles, posted an interception in the end zone and recovered a fumble on his way to recognition as the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week.

“We spend a lot of time with him, but he’s a fearless kid, which helps,” said UMaine defensive coordinator Rich Nagy. “He enjoys playing the game. He’s picking up on things.”

Gordon, a 5-9, 165-pound speedster from Rochester, N.Y., is the newcomer in the Bears’ talented corps of wide receivers. While he is getting some reps as a wideout, Gordon has shown promise as a kickoff and punt returner.

It’s an area Cosgrove said UMaine was lacking in 2002.

Saturday night in Portland, Gordon showed off his speed with a 40-yard punt return that set up the Bears’ clinching field goal. He also had a 23-yard kickoff return.

Gordon is averaging 24 yards on punt returns and 22.4 yards on kickoff returns and appears to possess breakaway speed.