ORONO, Maine — The safety position is one of the more complicated ones on the football field.
Safeties are responsible for pass coverage, coming up to supply run support and organizing the secondary, and making sure everyone knows what coverage they are in.
Fifth-year senior Darrius Hart has been a reliable safety for the University of Maine throughout his career.
When the Black Bears (4-3 overall, 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association) in host Albany (2-5, 0-4) in Saturday’s 1 p.m. homecoming game at Morse Field in Orono’s Alfond Stadium, Hart will be appearing in his 37th career game for the Black Bears.
The Toms River, New Jersey, native is currently fourth on the team in tackles this season as he has been involved in 35. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound free safety has an interception, a blocked punt and 2.5 of his tackles have been for lost yardage.
It is the third straight year he appears to be headed for a top-six finish on the team in tackles.
He led the team in interceptions in 2017 and 2016 with three each season. He returned one for 35 yards and a touchdown against Bryant last year.
He was sixth in tackles (42) a year ago, and had three pass breakups and a forced fumble. He was fifth in tackles in 2015 with 47 and had three pass breakups.
He feels he is having his best season thanks to his experience, which has elevated his confidence.
“Having played in so many conference games already … knowing who my opponent is, who I’m playing every week, how to do the right film study and allowing that to transfer on the field has allowed me to play a lot faster than I’ve played the last three or four years,” Hart said.
The communications major said he thrives on the different aspects of the position.
“It feels good knowing our coaches have enough confidence in me to keep calling man-to-man coverages even if we do get beat [from time to time]. A lot of the teams in our conference sit back in zones. I like the challenge of covering someone, just me and him one-on-one,” Hart said. “As a safety, I could go from covering a slot receiver to a tight end to a fullback to a running back. Plus making all the calls and checks I have to make to get us lined up.”
He enjoys smothering whoever he has to cover.
“You want to be in someone’s grill all day. They don’t want that. Receivers don’t want to get touched. When they have someone hitting them or touching them all day, you can take them out of their game really fast,” Hart said.
“Darrius is a huge part of our defense,” said UMaine junior running back Joe Fitzpatrick of North Yarmouth. “He’s a great player and a leader for the defense. He comes up big in a lot of key spots. He supplies great run support. He comes downhill fast. And he’s tall and lanky so he can defend the deep balls. He’s an aggressive kid.”
“He will hit you [hard] and he is a ballhawk in the air,” senior strong safety Jeff DeVaughn said. “He’s someone you can trust. If you make a mistake, he’s always got your back.”
Hart was able to crack the UMaine lineup as a true freshman and was involved in 14 tackles in eight games.
He suffered an injury in the opener against Boston College his sophomore year and missed the rest of the season, earning a medical redshirt.
“He has had a good career,” UMaine head coach Joe Harasymiak said. “He has a high football IQ. He knows defenses and always puts us in the right position. There is a lot of stress on our safeties. They are in a lot of one-on-ones [with receivers] and have to get involved in run [support]. He has done a nice job with that.”
Hart is honest in assessing his career.
“My career has been up and down. I’ve battled through some injuries and haven’t had the seasons I’ve wanted to. But [overall] I’m pretty happy about my career and things have gone pretty well this year,” Hart said.
Hart had several scholarship offers but chose Maine because of the “family atmosphere. And it wasn’t fake love. I really bonded with the guys. And being nine hours from home allowed me to focus on what I needed to get done.”
He is looking forward to homecoming and would love to help the team make the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
“I want to keep playing the best football I can and be the best teammate I can,” he said.
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