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Football Kicks off 2007 Spring Practice Saturday
April 14, 2007 ORONO, Maine - The University of Maine football team kicked off its 2007 spring football practice schedule on Saturday with a two-and-a-half our session in the Mahaney Dome on the Orono campus. The Black Bears will continue its spring session on Sunday with a practice at 12 p.m., on Saturday in the Mahaney Dome. The practice is free and open to the public to attend. "It's good to get going," said head coach Jack Cosgrove, who is entering his 15th season as the program's leader. "The weather has held us up a bit so we had to rearrange our schedule. But we're fortunate to have this facility (Mahaney Dome) and it allowed us to begin our spring practice." Maine returns 40 letterwinners (18 offense, 19 defense, 3 specialists) and 17 starters (8 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists) from the 2006 season which saw the Black Bears go 6-5 and finish the regular season with a No. 24 ranking in The Sports Network FCS National Top 25 Poll. The biggest storyline of the spring practice season will be the battle for the starting quarterback position, which was held the previous four seasons by Ron Whitcomb, who set school records for career completions, attempts and touchdowns. The two quarterbacks vying for the position is sophomore Michael Brusko and redshirt freshman Adam Farkes. Both had opportunities to work with the first-team offense in situational drills on Saturday. Both completed several passes, as they mixed it up completing throws to receivers, tight ends and fullbacks. The Black Bears will also need to replace Arel Gordon at the starting tailback position. However, several qualified candidates are up for the task, including junior Jhamal Fluellen, who started several games at wideout/tailback in the later stages of last season. Fluellen is a diverse back who can run and catch, including catching a career-high seven balls in the season finale versus New Hampshire last season. Other tailbacks in the mix include junior Teron Allen, junior Jeron Pearson and redshirt freshman Jermaine Henderson. Maine returns seven starters on defense, including a trio of all-conference performers from last season in linebackers John Wormuth (Sr.), Andrew Downey (Jr.) and defensive lineman Bruno Dorismond (Sr.). Senior defensive end Patrick McCrossan returns for his third season as a starter, while defensive backs Jonathan Calderon and Lionel Nixon Jr. return for their second seasons as starters in the secondary. Sophomore Devin McNeill returns as the placekicker for the Black Bears after connecting on 7-of-11 field goals last season. Kash Kiefer returns for his second season as the starting punter. The spring's first practice saw the team work primarily in situational drills. The players wore their helmets, but no pads. A small situational scrimmage was held at the end of practice, which featured several nice plays from both the offense and defense. Brusko connected with Allen on a swing pass out of the backfield, which the tailback turned up field and produced a 25-yard gain. Farkes also had several nice completions, including a 30-yarder to wideout Landis Williams. Defensively, Wormuth and McCrossan each came up with fumble recoveries to thwart a pair of offensive drives.
"It's a tough way sometimes to practice football when you are just in helmets and no pads," Cosgrove said. "But our guys did a good job of playing with a fast tempo and competing hard without anybody getting hurt. It was a good first day for us as we try to get better for next season."
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