ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine again plans to use two quarterbacks during Saturday’s Colonial Athletic Association game at Richmond.
Junior Dan Collins handled the majority of the duties in the Black Bears’ 27-17 win over Rhode Island, but sophomore Drew Belcher also took several snaps.
That trend is expected to continue.
“We feel like [Belcher] is a good player,” Cosgrove said. “The whole competition [for the starting job] was very close. Swapping him in there to spell Danny or getting him some reps is going to be a thing of our offense going forward.”
Collins completed 14 of 25 passes for 211 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and ran nine times for 33 yards against the Rams.
Even though his first two starts were against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, Collins nonetheless has completed only 47 percent of his passes (37-for-79). He has not yet thrown a touchdown pass and has been picked off three times.
Belcher had six carries for 12 yards against Rhode Island and went 1-for-2 through the air. The completion was a big one, a 51-yard touchdown throw to redshirt freshman wide receiver Micah Wright.
“I felt like he made a nice contribution, obviously, with the touchdown pass and had a nice drive he was part of later on that ended up in a touchdown,” Cosgrove said.
UMaine capitalized on Belcher’s reputation as a runner to set up the scoring pass, which came off a fake-run play action.
The coaching staff’s challenge moving forward will be to take advantage of situations and schemes that will use Belcher’s talents in what thus far has been a limited role.
Tailback ranks thinned
Another of the bright spots in the victory over Rhode Island was the Black Bears’ ability to run the ball and to demonstrate some balance.
Sophomore Nigel Beckford churned out 91 yards on 17 carries, netting 5.4 yards per attempt. He was complemented by redshirt freshman Darian Davis-Ray, who picked up 74 yards on 12 carries (6.2 ypc).
The tandem helped UMaine net 210 yards on 44 carries in the contest.
The Black Bears will need to find a different 1-2 punch this week. Davis-Ray suffered an injury to his right ankle against Rhode Island that will keep him sidelined for an undetermined time.
Davis-Ray was wearing an immobilizing boot on the ankle and did not participate in Tuesday’s practice session at Alfond Stadium.
Davis-Ray’s emergence had made it possible for the Black Bears to keep senior linebacker Cabrinni Goncalves at his preferred defensive position. However, he may again have to be ready to take a few snaps at tailback.
Senior Sacoy Malone, who has seen most of his action on special teams, will back up Beckford along with Goncalves.
BEAR TRACKS: The UMaine defense continues to be a bit shorthanded because of injuries. Junior middle linebacker Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga and Darrius Hart both remain out with leg injuries.