ORONO, Maine — The spring season and fall preseason is like classroom time to a college football player.
Almost two weeks into the University of Maine’s fall season, Troy Harris has been told to go stand in the corner, but that’s just fine with him.
The fifth-year senior from Bedford, Penn., has put himself in position not only for his first collegiate start, but also elevated himself to No. 1 on the depth chart at the cornerback position.
“I came into preseason trying to make them play me or come up with a good reason not to,” Harris said with a grin. “There’s more pressure because I set high standards for myself and it’s my last year.”
Harris was one of several players distinguishing themselves at Wednesday’s second preseason scrimmage. He intercepted a pass at the 2-yard line and returned it 15 yards during a “red zone” drill and made a solid downfield block after fellow defensive back Steven Barker ended the scrimmage with an interception and returned the ball 10 yards.
“He’s really made a pretty consistent and good impression on us in camp and put himself in that top-two category at cornerback,” said head coach Jack Cosgrove. “From what I see on film and what he did today, he could only help himself.”
In general, Cosgrove said there was a lot to like and a lot to dislike Wednesday.
“As I told the guys, I thought there were lots of good things and lots of things I’d consider sloppy,” he explained. “On one hand, I’m angry at the offense for turning it over, but fired up by the defense for getting the turnovers. It’s unacceptable to begin with to turn the damn ball over, but even more when it’s the more veteran group.”
On paper, the defensive backfield also appears to be a veteran group with three seniors among the top five contenders for starting jobs, but after losing three starters to graduation and another to a position switch last spring (Brandon McLaughlin from strong safety to linebacker), the secondary is a bit of question, but one that could provoke an emphatic answer in the affirmative.
Sophomore Norman Smith is a returning starter, senior Dominic Cusano is back after starting two games at cornerback before a knee injury knocked him out for the season, and Barker started three games at the corner in 2007.
For the last four years, Harris has been making incremental progress. He sat out 2005 as a redshirt, but was named the Black Bears scout team’s defensive player of the year. In 2006, he saw action on special teams in 10 games. In 2007, he missed three games to injury but forced a fumble against Monmouth and returned a two-point conversion pass interception 100 yards for two points.
Harris doesn’t really consider himself a big-play guy.
“No, I think if everybody’s doing their job, big plays happen naturally,” Harris said.
Last year, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound double major in accounting and business management again vexed Monmouth by blocking a punt.
“Troy is really a guy who we’ve been waiting on, hoping he’d emerge,” Cosgrove said. “We think he’s very talented, but he’s a victim of being around lots of great players and not getting a lot of playing time behind [Lamir] Whetstone, [Lionel] Nixon, [Jonathan] Calderon, and a bunch of other guys, but they’re all gone now.”
Harris made it a point to stick around this summer and get as much work in as possible to prepare for the fall.
“I think I was up here for all but maybe five days,” said the former high school quarterback and defensive end. “I think it’s brought us closer together as a team because this was the most guys in my five years I’ve ever seen up here in summer.”
UMaine defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Rossi, who coached Harris a lot as the former special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach, says Harris is a case study in patience as a guy who has waited for his turn.
“I want to see him do well. I’d be excited for him because he has put in the time,” Rossi said. “There’s something to be said for the guy who waits his turn. When you get the opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it. So far, he is.”
Harris’ name hasn’t been heard much in camp so far, but that’s not a bad thing.
“Now that I think back, the last two scrimmages, I haven’t really even addressed him and if you don’t hear your name, that means you’re doing a good job,” Rossi said.