ORONO – Arel Gordon has always been fast.

When you’re barely 5-foot-9, 179 pounds, and playing at the Division I level, you’d better be fast to outrun the big guys.

Gordon has often heard his size might not allow him to achieve his goals as a football player, but he has made up for it with a tireless work ethic and tremendous determination.

Gordon will be the featured offensive weapon for the University of Maine football team Saturday when the Black Bears open their season at eighth-ranked Youngstown State.

“When you tell me Arel’s getting X amount of carries and X amount of catches each game, that’s the amount of times we’re going to have to make a big play,” said UMaine head coach Jack Cosgrove.

Gordon’s most obvious attribute is his blazing speed. He owns the football program record in the 40-yard dash, clocking a 4.37 [seconds] last spring.

“Carl Smith-fast,” Cosgrove said, comparing Gordon to the former UMaine star tailback.

Gordon has utilized that speed well during his first three seasons. The Rochester, N.Y. native, who had been used primarily as a wide receiver, owns the UMaine career record with three punt returns for touchdowns.

He was an All-Atlantic 10 third-team choice at wideout in 2005 with a team-best 70 receptions good for 484 yards. He was an A-10 first-team pick and a third-team All-American in 2004 as a kick returner.

Last season, as the Bears began transitioning into a “spread” offense, Gordon was thrust into a more prominent role as a rusher and receiver. This fall, Gordon’s efforts will be even more important.

“I trained real hard for this opportunity,” Gordon said. “I know people are watching me and relying on me to do certain things and I feel like as long as I’m relying on my teammates and they’re relying on me, we’ll be successful on offense.”

One facet many fans and UMaine opponents might underestimate is Gordon’s power. He squats 500 pounds, a weight more often achieved by 300-pound linemen, benches 330 pounds and hang-cleans 302.

“That’s why I can break tackles and I can make people miss, because I have strong legs that are stable underneath me,” Gordon said. “They give me the ability and the confidence to square somebody up or keep running through a tackle. It’s the reason I began to play so physically.”

The lifting numbers give Gordon the distinction of being the strongest student-athlete, pound for pound, in the entire UMaine athletic department.

“You’re looking at a 180-pound kid that can run a 4.37 and squats with the O-[offensive] line,” said UMaine interim head strength and conditioning coach Leslie Look. “He’s definitely earned it.”

What makes Gordon the strongest man on campus is the ratio of weight lifted to body weight. In his case, it’s 6.5 to 1.

“Honestly, whether he has his best day or not, he has a comfortable margin over six,” said Look, herself a former powerlifting champion. “I’ve seen strong people in my day and I can tell you Arel is one of the strongest.”

Gordon is motivated by the fact his power and speed are comparable to anyone he faces.

“I play like I’m the same size as anybody else or bigger,” he explained. “I just cancel out the fact other people have more football-shaped bodies than I do.”

This season may prove the toughest test yet of Gordon’s ability and durability. While he realizes he is going to absorb plenty of punishment, he will try to pick his spots to put himself at risk for taking hits.

“If I have to fight two or three yards and that’ll keep the drive alive, no matter where it is on the field, I’m still going to lower my shoulder,” he said. “It’s just playing smart.”

Cosgrove explained the UMaine staff will try to use Gordon in a way that will keep teams from ganging up on him.

“I think through personnel groupings we’re going to give him opportunities to be part of the whole offense for the whole game and pick spots for him to be successful and be involved in run, pass or [pass] protection,” Cosgrove said.

Gordon, who chose UMaine over another scholarship offer from New Hampshire, plans to graduate next May with a degree in communications and a minor in public relations.