Radulski seeking starting position Black Bears hold first scrimmage

ORONO – Josh Radulski has been busting his butt to earn a starting spot on the University of Maine football team ever since his arrival in 2001.

In May, upon completion of spring workouts, the tight end from Newark, Del., was fast-forwarded to first-team status when the Black Bears’ top two players at that position were kicked off the team for violations of UMaine’s Student-Athlete Code of Conduct.

Radulski responded by recommitting himself to the program. He decided to remain in Orono over the summer and work out with his teammates and strength coach Will Biberstein so he would be ready for opening day.

Radulski had hoped to demonstrate the progress he has made toward becoming a starter Tuesday afternoon during the Black Bears’ first intrasquad scrimmage of preseason training camp.

“I’ve just been looking forward to getting on the field, getting my chance to show what I can do,” Radulski said.

Instead, he got a scare.

On the eighth play of the scrimmage, the 6-foot-5, 255-pounder swore in pain when a teammate’s helmet crashed into his left knee.

“That was scary. I was in a lot of pain; I was screaming like a little girl,” said Radulski, who wore an ice wrap on the knee for a while then spent much of the practice walking gingerly up and down the sideline.

“It feels pretty good now. It should be better in a couple days,” he said after practice.

The tight end spot is a key concern for coach Jack Cosgrove and his staff this preseason. The loss of All-Atlantic 10 pick Dante Fusco and Kendrick Ballantyne left a void on the offensive line.

The situation worsened, if only temporarily, later Tuesday when backup Craig Parcells, a nephew of Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, injured his left ankle and knee.

With veteran Dzigbodi Ababio coming off arthroscopic knee surgery, that left incoming freshman Mike Moran to take the remainder of the tight end reps.

“The hand grenade [disciplinary actions] went off in the spring and wiped us out of some people and then you look out today [after the injuries] and coach Wilder’s next call was coming out of the Hofstra offense: No tight ends, run-and-shoot,” Cosgrove said.

Associate head coach and offensive coordinator Bobby Wilder is encouraged by the progress shown by Radulski and his fellow tight ends.

“We’re very excited about Josh Radulski at this point,” Wilder said. “His run blocking has improved and he’s an exceptional pass receiver.”

Wilder said UMaine hopes to throw more to its tight ends this season, but the Bears need to develop some depth.

“Right now, we feel like both Craig Parcells and true freshman Mike Moran are going to have the ability to play for us this year,” Wilder said.

Tuesday’s scrimmage provided the first opportunity for the Bears to engage in a live scrimmage situation this season. Early highlights included the explosive running of senior tailback Marcus Williams and backup Montell Owens, the poised passing of quarterback Ron Whitcomb and the big-play combination of backup QB Chris Legree and wide receiver Arel Gordon.

Williams gained 41 yards on six carries, peeling off a 21-yard gain in the first series for the starting offensive unit. Owens powered his way to 43 yards on seven attempts and had a 2-yard scoring plunge.

Whitcomb completed 8 of 10 passes for 70 yards, among them a 9-yard TD toss to Ryan Waller. Legree and Gordon hooked up for a 68-yard score on a play-action pass on the second unit’s first play of the day.

“Our offense had some big plays early in the scrimmage, which was good for them,” Cosgrove said. “It was just real disappointing to see our defense give up a couple of big plays because that’s not really characteristic of them, but I thought our defense bounced back and played a lot better.”

Several players sat out the scrimmage, presumably to nurse injuries. Coaches are not allowed to discuss injuries.

Among the projected front-line players not participating in the scrimmage were defensive end Marcus Walton, cornerbacks Jarrod Gomes and John Baumgartner and defensive back James Henry.