University of Maine’s Pat Ricard said he was honored to be selected to the Colonial Athletic Association’s preseason all-conference team at the league’s media day on Tuesday in Baltimore but he also knows it doesn’t mean much.
“It’s cool,” said defensive tackle-end Ricard, the only Black Bear chosen to the team. “But you take it with a grain of salt. I don’t read too much into it. I just want to perform when the season comes along.”
Maine, coming off a 3-8 season, 3-5 in the CAA, was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team league by the head coaches and media relations directors. Last season, Maine was picked seventh in the preseason poll and ended the season in a four-way tie for seventh in the CAA.
The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Ricard is coming off a season in which he shared the conference lead in tackles for loss with 16 en route to All-CAA first team accolades. He had seven sacks and was in on 52 tackles.
The Spencer, Massachusetts, native said he is hoping to have an even better season this fall and help the team bounce back from last year’s disappointing campaign.
“We were in a lot of close games but our biggest thing is we didn’t finish games,” said Ricard, whose Black Bears lost three games by 10 points or less in the midst of a season-ending four-game losing streak. “We’ve got to get that [key] stop or score that [critical] touchdown this year.
“We want to gain respect from the opposing players, coaches and teams, and the only way to do that is by competing week in and week out,” he added.
“I’m excited about Pat and the year he could potentially have. He’s a special player like Trevor Bates was. We would love to get him in a one-on-one matchup,” said Maine first-year head coach Joe Harasymiak, who had been the team’s defensive coordinator. “And he will have a pretty good supporting cast around him.”
The 30-year-old Harasymiak is the nation’s youngest Division I head coach and he replaced 23-year head coach Jack Cosgrove, who stepped down after 23 seasons to become the senior associate director of athletics at the school.
Corey Hetherman is the new defensive coordinator, Liam Coen will be their first-year offensive coordinator and Nick Charlton has taken over as special teams coordinator.
“Things are looking bright. It’s going to change the culture a bit,” said Ricard. “Coach Cosgrove was an old-school guy who had a traditional mindset.
“We’ll be more modernized and, with younger coaches, they’ll be able to relate to the players,” said Ricard. “We’ll be more explosive on offense. We’ll have more looks and we’ll be doing things we hadn’t done before.”
Richmond, which reached the semifinals of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs last fall, was the preseason pick to win the conference.
The Spiders received 19 of the 24 first-place votes.
They were followed by William and Mary, James Madison, Villanova, New Hampshire, Towson, Delaware, Stony Brook, Maine, Elon, Albany and Rhode Island.
New Hampshire received three first-place votes, while William and Mary and Maine each collected one.
Maine won’t play Richmond but will face William and Mary, James Madison, Villanova, New Hampshire, Delaware, Stony Brook, Albany and Rhode Island.
The Black Bears will open on the road against Football Bowl Subdivision teams the University of Connecticut and Toledo on Sept. 1 and Sept. 10, respectively.