ORONO – Don’t get him wrong. Jared Turcotte appreciated the help he got from his teammates when he was putting up Fitzpatrick Trophy-worthy numbers as a tailback at Lewiston High School.

But spending a year as a redshirt and then working out at a position that will call on him to block far more than carry the ball has a way of enlightening anyone to how much football is a team game.

“It’s weird that you realize how much everybody relies on everybody else for the play to be successful. I realize that much more now than I did in high school,” he said.

Turcotte is currently listed first on the University of Maine depth chart at H-back, a position best described as a combination of fullback and tight end. Turcotte knows nothing is guaranteed before the Black Bears open their season at Division I Iowa on Aug. 30.

“I want to go into the start of the regular season as the No. 1 fullback on the depth chart,” he said. “I want to show the coaches that I have what it takes to be that guy that they can depend on to get the job done every play.”

Regardless of whether Turcotte is starting his first college game before 70,000 screaming Hawkeye fans, Maine coach Jack Cosgrove is convinced he’s going to leave his imprint on the team because he already has.

“Jared is going to have a large role,” Cosgrove said. “He clearly is a guy that has a great presence in and around the team, in the locker room, on campus. … He’s a guy who understands leadership. He’s a very disciplined kid, and he has already impacted our team without even getting into a game.”

Cosgrove told Turcotte last fall that the next time he saw the field, he would be blocking for Jhamal Fluellen, Maine’s 1,000-yard tailback.

To prepare for those duties, he spent his redshirt year adding about 20 pounds to his 6-foot-2 frame (he’s listed at 232 pounds) and immersing himself in Maine’s offense to make the backfield transition smoother. He’s practiced blocking “every single day” of preseason camp, working on using proper hand technique, sinking his hips, getting low and staying low.

“I take a lot of pride now in my blocking. I never thought that I would, really,” he said with a laugh.

Fluellen is impressed with his new running mate’s all-around abilities.

“He’s doing an excellent job of not only blocking, but also catching the ball and knowing what his responsibilities are in the offense,” he said.

Far from overwhelmed by his new role, Turcotte said he has just concentrated on getting better at whatever he’s doing every day. That takes a lot of work, on and off the field.

And while the focus has been on making him better without the ball, Black Bear fans shouldn’t think Cosgrove has forgotten that he still can be a powerful, explosive force out of the backfield.

“When I get the ball, I’ll take advantage of it,” he said. “I’ll take advantage of every opportunity that I get with the ball, but I like what I do. I take a lot of pride in blocking and making a play that way.”

Cosgrove said the more success Turcotte has in his “initial role,” the bigger role he’s going to have.

“I look at Jared as one of the key reasons for whatever success we have this year,” he said.