ORONO – Chris Legree has always been known as “Little Chris.”

That’s because his father, Chris Legree, was a New York City football legend, first as a high school quarterback and later at the semipro level.

Despite growing up in his father’s long shadow, the younger Legree was determined to emulate him and become an accomplished quarterback.

“He’s my favorite player,” said Legree, a fifth-year player for the University of Maine. “I watched him play semipro and those are some of the memories as a little kid that I don’t lose, watching him throw a football.”

The road to success has been tougher for Legree, who has finally earned his way onto the field as part of the Black Bears’ two-man quarterback rotation. While he isn’t a household name, the 6-foot, 213-pounder from Brooklyn, N.Y., is a pivotal member of the team.

“Chris has been a real good kid in the program,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “It probably hasn’t gone, as far as playing time, the way he wanted it to, but he’s always been there for us.”

Legree is playing about 30 percent of the Bears’ offensive snaps, showing opponents some elusive running ability and a strong arm. He is thrilled to have finally earned the chance to play regularly.

“I’ve worked my tail off since I’ve been here and I guess you could say it’s kind of the reward at the end of the rainbow, that pot of gold,” Legree said as UMaine prepared for Saturday’s Atlantic 10 clash at fifth-ranked James Madison.

“Everybody feels like they’re good enough to play, so sitting on the sidelines for all of those games is kind of a shock,” he said, “but I’ve become a much smarter football player and I’ve learned a lot of things about myself in that time, also.”

Legree earned a scholarship from UMaine with a brilliant career at Poly Prep High School in Brooklyn where, as a senior, he passed for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns on his way to all-city and all-state honors.

Legree spent his first four seasons at UMaine working behind the scenes. After redshirting in 2001, he backed up All-Atlantic 10 performer Jake Eaton on the 2002 squad that shared the league title and reached the NCAA national quarterfinals.

When Eaton suffered a season-ending injury against Richmond, Legree went in and helped the Bears win, only to get hurt himself and not play again that season.

With the arrival of Whitcomb in 2003, there was suddenly a three-way battle for the QB job. Legree, who was third on the depth chart, was frustrated.

“I said to myself that I started something and I was going to finish it here,” Legree said. “My father taught me, just be your own man, that when you make a decision to stick with it.”

It is that determination and desire to improve that have helped Legree work himself into the mix this year.

“He always demonstrated to me that he’s totally committed to what we’re trying to do, trying to help this football team win games,” said associate head coach and offensive coordinator Bobby Wilder. “Quit isn’t in his vocabulary. He’s one of the most resilient people that I’ve been around since I’ve been coaching.”

Legree is relishing the chance to play and said he and Whitcomb have an excellent relationship despite sharing the position. He is averaging 2.7 yards per carry and has completed 8 of 16 passes for 130 yards and a TD.

“He’s got a great level of respect from his teammates,” Cosgrove said. “He’s got the ability to say the right thing to younger players and he’s provided tremendous leadership to them. He has a great perspective on the game of football.”

Those are qualities Legree learned from his father.

“He is my mentor,” Legree said. “I don’t call him daddy or dad, I call him coach. He always guided me and coached me up, just on life things.”

Upon graduation, Legree hopes to continue the tradition by getting into coaching himself.