WALES – Athletes and musicians seem to have a mutual admiration society, especially at the professional level. Television cameras are usually quick to spot a rapper or rock star in the crowd at a ballgame, and athletes often pop up in music videos or are backstage guests at a concert.

Adam Tremblay hasn’t hit the big time in either sports or music yet, but he’s good enough at both that he can play with a lot of confidence on the stage or on the field.

After playing football for six years, up to his freshman year at Oak Hill, Tremblay took two years off from the game to pursue music, his passion. He’d joined a band, called The Invention, as a guitarist, and there wasn’t enough time for him to do both.

The band kept him on the go, playing gigs in New Hampshire, Portland and at Bates College. But he missed football, especially when he heard his friends talk about practice or games. When the band decided to cut back on its gigs, Tremblay figured his senior year would be the perfect time to get back on the gridiron.

“I had time this year, so I figured why not? It keeps me busy, you know?” Tremblay said.

“At first I was kind of hesitant. I’d been out of it for a couple of years, but I’ve been working out a lot since then,” he added. “I wanted to get a taste of it first, and once I did, I felt pretty confident.”

The Raiders welcomed Tremblay back and immediately put him at tailback. His talent was quickly apparent, and it wasn’t long before coach Bruce Nicholas had him pegged as a starter.

Tremblay’s body rebelled early on. He suffered a groin injury in the preseason. But because he’d stayed in good shape while he was away from the game, he recovered quickly. All that he needed was to reassure himself that he could stand the pounding a tailback takes over the course of a season.

“I think he’s found that he can hit,” Nicholas said. “He was worried: ‘I know I can run that ball, but once someone hits me, how is that going to be.’ He has the instincts to deliver the blow most of the time. He’s a hard runner.

The Pine Tree Conference is learning as much. He’s third in the conference in rushing with 244 yards (at nearly 10 yards per carry) and leads the league with four rushing TDs.

“I think he’s a legit running back in this league,” Nicholas said. “I think he can be one of the best.”

“I don’t want to be cocky,” Tremblay said when asked about being among the PTC’s elite runners. “It’s fun. That’s what I’m doing it for, to have fun. I wouldn’t mind being one of the top running backs in the league. I think I have a pretty good shot. We’ll see how it goes.”

The most important thing, Tremblay said, is that’s he’s been welcomed back to the team and he’s physically and mentally ready for the season.

“I wasn’t sure how it was going to be, but I was having fun,” he said. “I got back into the mode, and my body’s getting used to it. Everyone’s the same age so I’ve fit in with the team.”

Tremblay first picked up a guitar when he was 11. He started out listening to hard rock, but now listens to a lot jazz. He lists Fiona Apple, Damien Rice and Rufus Wainwright among his biggest musical influences. He said The Invention, which will be cutting its second CD soon, plays “pretty heavy music. It’s more metal, but I like a lot of aspects of music.” The band will be breaking up after the recording session because its other guitarist is moving to Austria.

He hopes his wide-ranging musical tastes translate into a career in music. He’s already taking classes at UMaine-Augusta and hopes to be accepted to the Berklee College of Music in Boston

“I really want to study music. That’s my passion,” he said “I’m trying to be well-rounded. I want to be able to play any kind of gig, be able to run a studio or teach. I want to write my own music. I’ve been thinking about of projects in my head and I just want to get them out. I have to learn how to do that.”