ORONO – Brandon McGowan readily admits he doesn’t enjoy getting hit.

That might be surprising, since he has spent the last four seasons doing some impressive hitting for the University of Maine football team.

The senior strong safety is the linchpin of the Black Bears’ aggressive 4-4 defensive scheme that will try to shut down Northern Colorado in Saturday’s 6 p.m. home opener at Alfond Stadium in Orono.

“He’s as good a player, I think, that’s come through this program, right up there with some of the high-profile kids that we’ve had,” coach Jack Cosgrove said of the soft-spoken young man from Jersey City, N.J.

National Football League scouts have told UMaine coaches McGowan reminds them of former Black Bear All-American Stephen Cooper, who is now an inside linebacker with the San Diego Chargers.

McGowan, a 6-foot, 215-pounder, has returned to his “rover” position this season after spending 2003 at free safety. There, he led the Bears with 85 tackles and was an All-Atlantic 10 second-team pick.

McGowan enjoys the position, which enables him to use his speed and toughness to defend against both the run and the pass.

“Sometimes I’m in the box [the area behind the defensive linemen], sometimes I’m out of the box,” he said of the changing responsibilities of the position. “I like rover because it fits my game play.”

Football has been a lifelong passion for McGowan, who considers former Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers safety Ronnie Lott his childhood football hero.

McGowan got his start in the Police Activity League at age 7. As a rambunctious youngster, an uncle gave McGowan the nickname by which he is still known to his teammates, coaches and friends.

“He said I always had a rock head, so he came up with ‘B-Rock,’ ” McGowan said.

McGowan blossomed into a 160-pound, two-way football standout at Lincoln High School. However, he broke his ankle four weeks into his senior season, quickly reducing the amount of contact he had with college recruiters.

“A lot of schools didn’t want to talk to me,” McGowan said, “but Maine stayed with me and still gave me a scholarship and gave me a chance to play.”

Cosgrove and his staff saw the potential in McGowan, whose football ability opened the door for new opportunities despite coming from a school most recruiters don’t even visit.

“In the city where I came from there was a lot of fighting, a lot of violence, gun action, so I think it was great for me to get out of that type of environment and come up here to Maine, where it’s more relaxed.”

But the transition to college wasn’t easy for McGowan, who was homesick and uncommitted to his studies.

“As a freshman, I just didn’t care about school, the only thing I cared about was football,” he admitted.

He soon realized poor grades meant ineligibility. Ever since, he has worked to make the grade.

“His academic background in the school that he came from certainly did not put him at an advantage in regard to where he was with his fundamentals and his skills in [academics],” Cosgrove said.

“For Brandon this opportunity has come because of his success in football, but his opportunity to get an education and earn a degree are now of the utmost importance to him,” he added.

McGowan, who plans to earn a degree in business, holds out hope he might get the chance to play pro football. In the meantime, he’ll try to help lead UMaine back to another Atlantic 10 championship.