ORONO – It’s Monday afternoon and the University of Maine football team is practicing on the AstroTurf at Morse Field.

The early portion of the workout includes several 100-yard sprints run back-to-back. The offensive linemen run together.

As they rumble down the field on their last sprint, an exhausted freshman begins to run out of gas. At that moment, teammate Zack Magliaro slows slightly and turns to shout some much-needed words of encouragement.

The youngster plods the final 50 yards and is immediately greeted with a hug and congratulations from Magliaro and others.

“If I can help anybody, I’m going to do that,” said Magliaro, who learned long ago that mutual support among teammates is a key to success on the football field.

Magliaro’s dedication to the team and his outstanding performance at offensive tackle were among the factors that led his teammates to elect him as one of three team captains last spring.

“It was really an honor, because there’s so many guys in the senior group that could have been captains,” he said.

With his final collegiate season at hand, the senior is more committed than ever to helping the Black Bears succeed.

“I’m more of a lead-by-example guy, where everything I do has to be 100 percent all the time,” Magliaro said.

Magliaro has been a mainstay on the UMaine offensive line for the past 21/2 seasons.

“He was our best lineman last year, got voted that [Sam Sezak Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award] by the coaching staff,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove. “What happened last year was his performance on the field led to a greater recognition by his teammates of his talents.”

The 6-foot-3, 305-pounder from Beverly, Mass., lines up as the Bears’ quick tackle.

“He’s a guy that we count on heavily to do the movement-type things, protect the quarterback’s backside,” Cosgrove said.

Magliaro played his high school ball at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, a football program Cosgrove called one of the best in Massachusetts. As a senior, Magliaro helped lead St. John’s to an undefeated record, the Division I state championship and a No. 22 national ranking.

“He was one of about three or four guys [on that team] who were Division I players,” Cosgrove said

Upon his arrival at UMaine in 1998, Magliaro didn’t get the opportunity to redshirt and work his way slowly into the program. With the ranks thinned by injuries, he was forced into the lineup at midseason.

“I kind of got tossed right in,” Magliaro recalled with a chuckle. “It was fun. A lot of guys helped me, though. That’s what got me ready to play.”

Though slowed by preseason injuries his first two seasons, Magliaro played 11 games at left tackle last season. He was one of only two linemen to start every game. As a sophomore, he showed his versatility while seeing time at both tackle spots and playing all 11 games.

Magliaro enjoys the camaraderie and challenge of blocking as part of the offensive line unit.

“We’re five people working all together to do a job: Open up a hole here, protect the passer there,” Magliaro said. “We all have to be able to work together.”

He is quick to credit his teammates with helping him improve every day in practice. He lines up against defensive ends Brendan Curry, Damon Boinske and Marcus Walton.

“We get each other better,” said Magliaro, the self-described “old man” of the group. “They know what my weaknesses are, too, so they try to exploit those.”

Magliaro’s focus continues to be on improvement with the ultimate goal being team success on Saturdays.

“It’s really a team game all the way around,” Magliaro said. “Everybody’s working together to try to get a touchdown or a field goal. That’s what I get the enjoyment out of the game from.”