ORONO, Maine — Growing up playing football in Lewiston, Jared Turcotte found out Mainers often aren’t viewed as legitimate Division I prospects.
The versatile Turcotte has proven he is one of the few who can have an impact.
The redshirt freshman turned heads during his first season at the University of Maine. This week, he was named a Football Championship Subdivision second-team All-American by The Sports Network.
“It was kind of a shock,” Turcotte said Friday. “I wasn’t expecting it at all, but it’s nice to see hard work pay off. It’s nice to prove people wrong.”
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound fullback said the honor helps demonstrate Mainers can excel.
“If I didn’t live in Maine, I feel like I would have had more opportunities to go to other schools, but I’m perfectly fine here and appreciate the fact coach [Jack] Cosgrove saw that I could play and gave me the opportunity.”
Turcotte became the 33rd Black Bear to be named an All-American. He is only the fourth native Mainer in that select group, joining linebacker John Huard of Waterville (1965-66), offensive lineman Dave Ingalls of Bangor (1987) and tight end Chad Hayes of Old Town (2001).
“He has a great work ethic,” said UMaine running backs coach Kevin Cahill. “He’s a team-first guy.”
Turcotte’s emergence was expedited by his tremendous versatility. He started the year as a hybrid tight end/fullback. As injuries hit the UMaine offense, he was utilized more as a blocking fullback, then as a ball-carrying tailback.
“I had a lot of different responsibilities,” Turcotte said. “It depended on the formations we were in.”
Turcotte, who had only one carry in the first four games, wound up rushing for a team-leading 625 yards (6.0 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns.
“He is determined to make sure he gets the most out of each run,” Cahill said.
Turcotte also led UMaine in receiving with 25 catches for 285 yards and a TD.
“I was perfectly fine with my role as long as I could help the team,” Turcotte said.
He likely would have carried the ball even more had it not been for the fact UMaine was thin at two other positions.
“That’s the dilemma: You put him in there as a tailback, who’s going to be your fullback,” said offensive coordinator Kevin Bourgoin, who pointed out the Bears didn’t have another proven fullback.
UMaine also did not have a backup tight end, which meant Turcotte was often used there.
“He can do it physically and he’s smart enough to do it,” Bourgoin said.
Turcotte also was hampered late in the season by injuries to both knees. He said he recently had a meniscus tear surgically repaired in his right knee after undergoing a similar procedure on the left knee a year earlier.
“People at the end of the year were disappointed he wasn’t getting the ball [more],” Bourgoin said. “He was banged up.”
Bourgoin said the hope is to have Turcotte settle in at one position next season.
Turcotte said he benefited greatly from sitting out as a freshman. It enabled him to learn the offense and get acclimated to the rigors of Division I football and academics.
He will rededicate himself in the weight room this winter in the hope of being more productive on the field in 2009.
“He’s not even close to what kind of football player he can be,” Bourgoin said.
Both he and Cahill said Turcotte must improve his blocking and pass-protection skills.
“I didn’t play as good as I can or as good as I’m going to in the future. You can always improve,” Turcotte said.
Belcher an all-star again
University of Maine senior defensive end Jovan Belcher was named an ECAC Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) All-Star for the second straight year Friday.
The Colonial Athletic Association defensive player of the year from West Babylon, N.Y., had 17½ tackles for a loss and 7½ sacks this season. He is also a consensus first team All-American selection by five football organizations.
Black Bears line up schedule
The University of Maine softball team has finalized its schedule for 2009 and the season features seven home games as well as games against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East, and Conference USA.
The Black Bears start their season Feb. 6 with the UT-Chattanooga Challenge in Tennessee. Maine plays in two other tournaments during its spring swing through Tennessee, South Carolina, and Florida and will take on teams like Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Villanova, and Boston College.
Maine, which will play 53 games in all, starts its America East conference schedule April 4 at home against Stony Brook University.