ORONO – Dennis Dottin-Carter has a knack for getting off the ball quickly.

In the University of Maine’s defensive scheme, speed is the critical element for the ends, who must contain the run and pressure opposing quarterbacks in the pass game.

Defensive coordinator Rich Nagy said the Black Bears perform a drill designed to enhance the players’ ability to fire out of their stances. In the drill, a coach drops the ball from his hands and the linemen react.

Dottin-Carter, an All-Atlantic 10 football first-team pick in 2002 and a preseason All-American this year, is first every time.

“We were amazed. We always thought he was cheating,” Nagy said of Dottin-Carter, a senior captain from Cambridge, Mass.

“He’s got tremendous peripheral vision,” Nagy explained. “He’s the only guy who actually sees the [coach’s] fingers flex [to release the ball].”

His quickness comes in handy. Dottin-Carter is small for a Division I-AA defensive end, but at 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, his combination of strength and speed have made him one of the league’s most respected players.

Dottin-Carter was recruited as a linebacker, but the staff recognized he could better utilize his talents as an end.

“For us he’s perfect in that he’s a linebacker type of kid playing against somebody who’s not going to be as good versus that speed,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “He may not be as big, but he’s more explosive, quicker, faster.”

Dottin-Carter is a linebacker at heart and wasn’t thrilled when asked to make the switch three years ago. But UMaine had been the only school to offer him a scholarship and he was willing to subjugate his personal desires for the good of the team.

This season, Dottin-Carter ranks seventh on the squad with 14 tackles in four games. He has posted 3.5 tackles for negative yardage, including a quarterback sack, and has 18 career sacks.

Dottin-Carter has been instrumental in UMaine ranking second in the A-10 in total defense (290.5 yards per game) and rushing defense (96 ypg).

“It’s definitely been a good fit for the team,” Dottin-Carter said. “I have some quickness and that definitely benefits me in the defensive line.”

Dottin-Carter is the elder statesman on a defense that has been revamped this season after key losses to graduation and injuries. As a captain, his leadership on the field is even more important.

The soft-spoken Dottin-Carter isn’t a rah-rah guy, but he is learning to speak up when necessary.

“I think he’s one of those guys that his actions speak louder than his words,” Cosgrove offered.

Even though attending college and playing football were childhood goals for Dottin-Carter, it took the Boston-bred boy a while to get used to life in rural Maine.

“Someone told me there’s a law in Maine that doesn’t allow billboards,” he said. “It’s one of those things that I don’t understand.”

Even so, he has tried to make the best of his years at UMaine.

“Any chance to get a free education’s a golden opportunity,” said Dottin-Carter, who as a kid dreamed of playing in the NFL. “As I got older, I knew that those NFL chances got real slim and that college would be my best bet to have a good job coming out.”

Dottin-Carter, a physical education and kinesiology major, figures he has plenty of options after UMaine.

“I like the whole aspect of strength and conditioning, trying to make athletes better,” Dottin-Carter said. “I’m also looking into the culinary arts area, and even teaching. I want to try to help kids out.”