OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Jordan Stevens isn’t the new coach on the block anymore.

The University of Maine football coach is entering his fifth season at the helm of the state’s top college football program. Stevens, one of the speakers Monday at the Maine chapter of the National Football Foundation’s kickff breakfast at Dunegrass Golf Course, has learned a lot about the position and himself.

Maine went 2-9 in 2002 and 2023 in Stevens’ first two seasons. The Black Bears improved to 5-7 in 2024 and, after an 0-4 start, finished 6-6 last year, including 5-3 in the Coastal Athletic Association.

“What I’ve learned more of is managing the roster, just being able to take care of players, the importance of leadership within our team,” said Stevens, 39. “For myself, it’s really just staying true to all my principles that I believe in, personally and within the game of football. The things I believe in, I’m going to continue to believe them and not waver from them. Those are the things true to the game of football: Being a tough, smart, disciplined football team.”

Maine will begin practice July 28. Four of its first five regular-season games will be on the road, including the Aug. 27 opener against conference foe Towson.

The Black Bears also have September road matchups against two Football Bowl Subdivision teams. They will face Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, on Sept. 5, then Boston College on Sept. 19.

“We’ve got to go attack the first game, there’s no waiting around (with Towson), that’s a conference opponent,” Stevens said. “We need to be able to be physical and have some intense practices leading up to that.”

Who will start at QB for Maine?

One question for the Black Bears entering training camp is who will lead the offense. Former starter Carter Peevy wrapped up his career last fall after passing for 4,660 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in two seasons in Orono after transferring from Mercer University in 2024.

Maine enters camp with five quarterbacks. The player with the most experience is redshirt junior Caden Drezek, Peevy’s backup last season. A 6-foot-2, 225-pound Connecticut native, Drezek was 7 of 13 passing for 58 yards and an interception. Competing with Drezek is 6-3 redshirt sophomore Eddie Buehler and Michael McMaugh, a 6-3 redshirt freshman. Neither has game experience.

“We haven’t named a starter yet, but we will plan to do that a short time into training camp,” Stevens said. “We do want to make sure when that time is right, we make that decision, but we don’t want to wait on that decision. We want the team to have a quarterback they can look to entering our first game.”

A rough road for Husson

It’s common for Husson University to open with a tough non-conference schedule, but this fall it seems especially brutal.

The Division III Eagles host conference champions in the first two weeks of the season. Husson kicks off Sept. 5 against Framingham State, the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference champion, before taking on Springfield, the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference champion, on Sept. 12.

“I wish we could say we planned it this way, but we play in Bangor, Maine, and when we can get games we take them,” said coach Nat Clark, a longtime assistant under former coach Gabby Price before taking over in 2019. “But that’s what we want. When we (restarted) the program 20 years ago, we wanted to play the best teams, and you find out a lot about yourself in those games.”

Husson was 4-6 last year after going 7-3 in 2021 and 2023.

UNE builds off its best season

After enjoying the best season in its eight-year history, the University of New England enters the fall with 122 players.

“We have 52 new faces coming into our program this year,” coach Mike Lichten said. “What we’ve made a commitment to is growing our roster, with (the intention) of continuing to grow, gain depth and provide experience for the kids that the University of New England can offer in a special way.”

UNE went 8-2 last season and finished third in the Conference of New England, behind Endicott and Curry.