The University of Maine football team has added five players through the NCAA Division I transfer portal to help shore up its defense.
Jayden Curry, a safety from the University of South Florida, cornerback Isaiah Watson from Samford University (AL), linebackers Jermaine Baker from Yale (CT) and Kaesean Dyson from Saint Francis (PA) and defensive lineman Zephron Lester from Stanford (CA) will be playing for the Black Bears this fall.
UMaine lost three players in the transfer portal in cornerback Kahzir ‘Buggs’ Brown, who transferred to Florida Atlantic, and linebackers Darius McKenzie (South Alabama) and Vince Thomas (Central Connecticut State).
“We lost a number of players in the portal who have played a lot of football for us so we had to address that,” said UMaine head football coach Jordan Stevens. “You have to have physically developed players to play in this league (Coastal Athletic Association). The importance of that is something we have made very clear to our team.”
Stevens is pleased with the transfers.
“We’re excited about this group of guys. They are down-to-earth, well-rounded, selfless football players who are going to come in and make an impact here,” Stevens said. “They are character guys.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Curry, a native of Virginia Beach, Va., was involved in 79 tackles in 44 games from 2019-23 at USF, which is a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school.
UMaine is in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), which is a notch below FBS.
FBS schools have 22 more scholarships and more resources.
Curry had three pass deflections, an interception, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
In 2022, Curry had 40 tackles which was fifth most on the team. He had five games in which he was involved in at least five tackles.
“Jayden played a lot of football for them. He played in a lot of big games and executed really well. He is a really sound football player and will be a real good addition to our secondary,” said Stevens.
The 5-11, 297-pound Lester spent four years at FCS school Stanford and appeared in four games. He had two tackles. The Far Rockaway, N.Y. native was a two-time all-league defensive lineman at Christ the King High School in Queens, N.Y.
Stevens said he knows Lester and his family well because he recruited him when he was an assistant at Yale.
“I’m really excited to add him here. He has a great way about him. He’s a hard worker and explosive defensive tackle. He will be an impact player for us,” said Stevens.
The 5-11, 175-pound Watson spent four seasons playing at FBS school Eastern Michigan before transferring to Samford, which is a FCS school.
The Baltimore native had 14 tackles in 26 games at Eastern Michigan before transferring to Samford where he was limited to one game due to a knee injury.
“He is going to compete at a high level and bring value to the corner position,” said Stevens.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Dyson played in 27 games over three seasons at FCS school Saint Francis and tallied 59 tackles, including 10 for lost yards of which 3.5 were sacks. He forced a fumble and recovered one.
The Ashburn, Va. native had his best season last fall when he finished sixth on the team in tackles with 33 and led the team in tackles for loss (7.5) and shared the team lead in sacks with three.
The 6-foot-2, 223-pound Baker played for Stevens at Yale and had 27 tackles in 19 games with 3.5 tackles for loss, an interception and fumble recovery. Last fall, Westchester, Ill. native set career-highs for total tackles (23), tackles for loss (3.5) and games played (10) at the FCS institution.
“Kesean and Jermaine both have the ability to cover (receivers) and rush the passer on third down,” said Stevens. “Kesean moves well in space and is a good open-field tackler.
“Jermaine is a flexible player who can play a number of different linebacker positions,” Stevens said.
The Black Bears are coming off back-to-back 2-9 seasons in which the defense has surrendered 107 plays of 20 or more yards during that span.
The defense was hit hard by injuries this past fall and didn’t have the depth it needed to overcome them.
UMaine’s defense finished in the bottom third of every major category among the 122 FCS schools.
