ORONO, Maine — For the past two seasons, University of Maine wide receivers Damarr Aultman and Arthur Williams caught passes thrown by Marcus Wasilewski, named the All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team quarterback last fall after leading the Black Bears to the conference title.
But Wasilewski has graduated, so the Black Bears must adapt to a new quarterback. There are three candidates for the job: sophomore Dan Collins, redshirt freshman Daniel Hoffer and freshman Drew Belcher.
Maine coach Jack Cosgrove has yet to name the starter for the season-opening game against visiting Norfolk State on Aug. 30.
Seniors Aultman and Williams, Maine’s top two returning receivers, aren’t worried about transitioning to a new quarterback.
“It won’t be a huge adjustment for us,” Williams said. “We run the routes, and they adjust to us. We did the same thing in Marcus’ first year (as a starter). I’m pretty sure we can do it again.”
“It’s not that difficult overall,” Aultman said. “We run the route, turn around and the ball is there. No matter how fast it’s coming or how far or how short it is, we adjust to the ball when it’s in the air. It’s our job to go get it, and that’s what we’re planning to do.”
Aultman said they will need to adjust to the quarterback’s cadence at the line of scrimmage.
“They practice with them every day. It’s just another arm throwing you the football,” Cosgrove said. “Certainly, if one of them has a little more velocity, they’ll recognize that. But it’s not a real dramatic change from quarterback to quarterback. If you go back, they also worked with Warren Smith and Chris Treister as well.
“They’re supposed to catch the ball. It’s the receivers’ job.”
Williams and Aultman are confident all three quarterbacks can get the job done.
“They all have their upsides,” Williams said. “Collins has a gun (for an arm). Hoffer throws seeds, and I like his accuracy. And big Belcher (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) stands in there, and he has a gun, too. They all look good, but they all mess up from time to time because they have a lot to learn.”
“I like all three of them,” Aultman said. “For the most part, they’re all very competitive. Right now, I’d give an edge to Collins because he got some reps at Northwestern last year and he does have some playing time under his belt. He played under (Wasilewski), so he had someone to look up to and (Wasilewski) took him under his wing. He has stepped up as more of a leader.”
Aultman caught 46 passes for 550 yards and five touchdowns last year. He was third on the team in receptions and has 114 catches for 1,563 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career.
Williams snared 24 balls for 344 yards and three touchdowns a year ago and has 85 career receptions for 1,323 yards and nine touchdowns.
Maine was picked to finish seventh in the league’s preseason coaches poll, and Aultman and Williams are anxious to prove a point. Maine was chosen eighth last year but won its first outright conference title since 1965.
“After winning the championship and being picked seventh this year, we’ve got a chip on our shoulders. We’re ready to prove the CAA wrong again,” Aultman said.
Aultman and Williams have been slowed by hamstring injuries and didn’t participate in Tuesday’s final scrimmage.
Aultman expects to be ready for the Norfolk State game, but Williams was unsure of his status.
BLACK BEAR NOTES: Cosgrove was not pleased with Tuesday’s scrimmage.
“I thought we would be a better team out there. It was concerning. Maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been,” Cosgrove said. “We turned the ball over, (and) we had too many penalties. It was sloppy. We missed some tackles and didn’t make some throws and catches we should have made. Our quarterbacks got sacked a number of times because we didn’t protect them as well as we should have. There are a lot of things we have to get better at.”
In addition to Aultman and Williams, another starter didn’t participate. Defensive back Axel Ofori Jr. was sidelined with an ankle injury. Ofori led the Black Bears in interceptions (three) and pass breakups (10) last year and was involved in 49 tackles, including 30 solos.