ORONO – The tactic of platooning quarterbacks is nothing new in college football.

It can be employed when neither of the top two quarterbacks on a team is consistently able to outperform the other.

Or, the system might be used when one quarterback is a significantly better passer while his counterpart is a run threat.

For the first time in recent memory, the University of Maine football team is using two quarterbacks regularly. Junior Ron Whitcomb, the Black Bears’ starter for two-plus seasons, has been sharing duties with senior Chris Legree.

It’s a move that has many UMaine fans wondering why.

“We think it’s part of who we are,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove, who is a former UMaine quarterback. “Both Ronny and Chris are certainly very capable quarterbacks.”

Cosgrove and associate head coach/offensive coordinator Bobby Wilder operate under the premise they should put their best 11 athletes on the field as often as possible. That means using both Whitcomb and Legree.

Whitcomb is still considered the Bears’ primary quarterback. If the game is on the line, he is likely to be under center.

Whitcomb is a proven passer, ranking fifth on UMaine’s all-time list with 5,272 yards. This season, he has completed 46 of 86 throws (.535) with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Legree is more of a running threat. He often is used on “quarterback power,” a designed run play between the tackles, but also can run the option or throw the play-action pass.

Legree has carried 23 times for 62 yards (2.7 yards per carry) and has completed five of 11 passes for 107 yards and a TD.

“We’ve expanded our offense,” Cosgrove said. “We want to be able to run an offense that both quarterbacks can run, but certainly part of the offense is geared to feature one or the other. I think it does give us some more diversity, some more things we can do that we weren’t able to do in the past.”

Whitcomb handles the majority of the QB duties. In three games, he has played 163 snaps (61 per game) in contrast to 56 for Legree (19 per contest).

That means Whitcomb is in the game 74 percent of the time, Legree 26 percent.

Last spring, UMaine began using the shotgun formation, something it hadn’t done in a while. It was Legree who first lined up in the ‘gun, but Whitcomb now also plays in that formation.

Cosgrove doesn’t believe the back-and-forth nature of how the two quarterbacks are used has negatively affected the continuity of the offense. He admits the unit, which has been initiating three new starters on the line along with first-time starters at other key positions, must continue to improve.

UMaine is averaging 18.7 points and 294 yards per game, both of which rank 11th out of 12 teams in the Atlantic 10.

“Everybody knows the quarterback has to share the blame, but it’s more far-reaching than that,” Cosgrove said. “It takes a lot more work to develop your offensive cohesiveness.”

Cosgrove also doesn’t view ego as being a factor as Whitcomb and Legree deal with sharing the position.

“Ronny and Chris are very team-oriented guys and I think what we’re doing features the strengths of each one of those guys,” he said. “We feel as if the tandem thing allows for us to be better as a team.”