ORONO – Playing football at a high school with a graduating class of around 70 seniors doesn’t often earn a second look from Division I coaches, especially in East Rochester, N.Y.

“I had shopped myself around a bit during my senior year in high school,” said Ron Whitcomb, a redshirt freshman at the University of Maine. “The only one that really showed interest in me was Maine. They’ve treated me really well.”

Maine coaches saw in Whitcomb what they saw five years ago when unheralded freshman Jake Eaton took over as the starter. Eaton became one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Maine’s history, and from the looks of it, Whitcomb will get the same opportunity.

Whitcomb will start Saturday’s season-opener against Montana.

“From the beginning, Coach (Bob) Wilder took me aside and told me that he didn’t think that the job was already won by anybody,” said Whitcomb. “He told me that it could be mine if I worked at it, and that’s what I did.”

Whitcomb started turning heads in the spring, when he started the annual spring scrimmage behind center. Until last week, though, all three quarterbacks (Whitcomb, John Meczywor and Chris Legree) were listed at No. 1 on the depth chart while coaches decided with whom they would trust the ball on Saturday.

“The coaches had to make a decision based on who they thought would be the best person to get his 1/11th done for the team on every play,” said Whitcomb.

“We hoped to be able to sort things out quickly,” added head coach Jack Cosgrove. “All three of them brought excellent skills to the table. We’re excited about (Whitcomb) though. He’s been a pleasant surprise.”

To say he was a surprise, though, is a bit of a misnomer. The rookie sat patiently on the sidelines all of last year, watching Eaton crack the top three all time in several offensive categories.

“It’s much more comforting to bring a young quarterback into a veteran offense,” said Cosgrove. “The receiving corps isn’t as veteran as we may have wanted, but they all got a lot of reps last year.”

Athletics run in Whitcomb’s blood. His father is an athletic director, and his sister is a stellar athlete in her own right. All Maine can hope for is that some of that athleticism and much of the hard work that Whitcomb has shown in practice will translate into success on the field during crucial games.

None more crucial, especially for Whitcomb, than that being played on Saturday night at Alfond Stadium.

“They have a stingy defense,” said Whitcomb, “but our offense is playing really well. All we can do is run our offense and wait and see what they throw at us.”

It’s worked so far for the young starter, and he sees no reason for anything to change.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com

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