National Letter of Intent signing day is among the most important days in the lives of many student-athletes.
Whenever it rolls around, University of Maine graduate Bruno Dorismond takes a minute to call his former football coach, Jack Cosgrove.
“He always remembers that this was a day that changed his life because of the opportunity he got,” said Cosgrove, UMaine’s head coach.
“Bruno came here, played for us, ended up getting a degree and got his master’s. Now, he’s very successful,” he added.
Cosgrove hopes the same will prove true for the 22 young men who on Wednesday signed a National Letter of Intent to attend UMaine starting in September.
Joe Fitzpatrick of Cheverus High School in Portland and Davis Turner of Oxford Hills High School in South Paris were among the football standouts who committed to the Black Bears program.
Turner, a 6-foot, 210-pound middle linebacker from Oxford, will join his brother Dexter Turner on the UMaine squad. Davis Turner was the leading tackler in the Eastern Maine Class A ranks last fall with 104 in nine games for the Vikings (4-5).
That earned him recognition as the Eastern Maine Class A Defensive Player of the Year. He also rushed for 702 yards and nine touchdowns.
“There’s already a relationship there with that family and Oxford Hills High School,” Cosgrove said.
Fitzpatrick, a 5-11, 200-pound running back from North Yarmouth, was a finalist for the Fitzpatrick Trophy and the Maine Gatorade Football Player of the Year. He amassed 2,071 rushing yards and 27 TDs with two all-conference and all-state first-team honors.
“Joey had a tremendous year at Cheverus as their tailback, and we’re really impressed with him,” Cosgrove said.
UMaine is bringing in a large class, one that includes players from eight states who are projected in 10 different positional groups. Cosgrove and his staff continued their success in New Jersey, signing eight players.
The class also includes four players from Massachusetts, three from Pennsylvania, two each from Maine and New York and one apiece hailing from Maryland, Connecticut and Washington, D.C.
“You assess your situation as a program, as a team, and you go out and identify players and recruit them,” said Cosgrove, who saw the recruits’ determination when they had to deal with severe weather conditions during their official visits to Orono.
“It revealed the Maine side of a lot of the young men that committed to us,” he said. “We were able to see them in our environment, and they fit in very well. It helped us feel good about the class.”
The rest of the signing class is as follows:
Emmanuel Almonte (5-10, 180), safety, Hyde Park, Massachusetts; Jaquan Blair (6-2, 185), wide receiver, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Zehmier Brown (6-5, 310), offensive lineman, Worcester, Massachusetts; Jonathan Castellano (5-9, 180), defensive back, Union City, New Jersey; Jordan Craig (6-5, 225), tight end, Toms River, New Jersey;
Samuel Cooper (6-1, 271), OL, Bensalem, Pennsylvania; Derek Deoul (6-2, 185), kicker/punter, Washingtonville, New York; Julian Dunn (6-2, 230), running back, Sandy Hook, Connecticut; Trevor Fuce (6-4, 260), OL, Southborough, Massachusetts; Josh Huffman (5-10, 180), cornerback, Buffalo, New York;
John Kay (6-2, 220), LB, Hingham, Massachusetts; Terry Loper (5-10, 200), RB, West Chester, Pennsylvania; Taji Lowe (6-1, 220), LB, Stewartsville, New York; John Mimes (6-3, 205), defensive end, Long Branch, New Jersey; Charles Mitchell (6-1, 275), defensive tackle, Piscataway, New Jersey;
Mason Phoenix (6-3, 230), TE, Baltimore, Maryland; Sterling Sheffield (6-2, 215), LB, Mullica Hill, New Jersey; Jack Walsh (6-3, 205), quarterback, Waldwick, New Jersey; Kayon Whitaker (6-3, 220), DE, Washington, D.C.; Kayshawn Wilson (6-2, 200), DB, Middlesex, New Jersey.
In evaluating the recruiting class, Cosgrove said he will defer his thoughts until a later date.
“Of course I think we did well, but the true answer will come in three or four years,” he said. “It’s too early to tell right now, and it’s certainly not fair to make an evaluation of them. They’ve got to stand the test of time, which includes their academic career and their football career.”
The signees’ participation at UMaine is contingent upon their acceptance to the university and compliance with NCAA eligibility guidelines.