When Houlton standout quarterback Isaiah Ervin was in seventh grade during the COVID-19 quarantine period, he made a football goals list and put it on his wall.
“They were simple goals,” Ervin said. “The next-to-last one was get interest from colleges, and the very last one was to sign with a D1 (Division 1) program.”
And that goal has been realized as he has signed a national letter of intent (NLI) to play at the University of Maine.
“It’s definitely a dream come true. I’m excited to have the opportunity and blessed to have the opportunity playing football at the Division I level,” said Ervin.
He is one of five football players who have signed NLIs to attend the University of Maine beginning this fall. He will start out as a defensive back according to UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens.
Ervin is joined by linebackers Lawson Foley from Scituate, Mass. and Bryceson Wise from New York City; defensive lineman Wayzn King from East Orange, N.J. and defensive back Kamden Tiller from Richmond, Va.
Wise played at Bridgton Academy last fall.
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Ervin was named the 2024 Sports Illustrated Offensive Player of the Year for Maine and the Little Ten Conference’s Player of the Year.
He rushed for 2,354 yards and 37 touchdowns on 212 carries for the Houlton High/Hodgdon/Southern Aroostook/Greater Houlton Christian Academy team in the eight-man small-school class. He also converted 43 two-point conversions. He threw for 813 yards and 13 TDs and, on defense, he had 74 tackles and four interceptions.
“He is a terrific athlete overall. He’s a very good football player. He played quarterback, a little bit of defensive back. He really did it all for them,” said Stevens. “He was here during the summer at our team camp. He’s a great basketball player and a very good lacrosse player.”
Ervin concluded his four-year high school career with 4,801 rushing yards and 83 rushing touchdowns, 3,538 passing yards, 52 TD passes, 147 tackles and 14 interceptions.
“I think we’re getting a very good athlete that we can develop under the resources we have and the training we have. He will benefit from that,” said Stevens.
Ervin is confident he will develop at UMaine.
“Absolutely. I definitely have room to grow in the weight room, on the field, IQ-wise and learning the schemes they run along with the formations,” Ervin said. “I’m excited.”
Ervin said he had a “real good experience” during his recruiting visit at UMaine.
“They rolled out the red carpet for me and a couple other guys as well. The facilities are real nice, it’s a nice school and it has the (academic) program I want,” he added. “They have a great coaching staff and the program is on the (move up).”
The fact it is close to home also positively impacted his decision.
“I just want to make as much of an impact as I can and as early as I can,” said Ervin, who is also a 1,000-point scorer in basketball.
He liked the other recruits he met, saying “they all seem like really humble, down-to-earth guys.”
In addition to the five players who signed national letters of intent, the Black Bears also added 11 players from the transfer portal.
That list includes defensive backs Brayden Holmes from Furman, Vincent Nwachi from Frostburg University and Malcolm Folk from Kent State and Syracuse; running backs Mako Grant (The Lawrenceville School) and Sincere Baines (UNC Pembroke); linebackers Jake Hall (UTEP) and Connor Noble (West Chester University); defensive linemen Farradi Titikpina (Coastal Carolina) and Elias Sherman (Central Missouri); wide receiver Ethan Davies (Virginia) and punter Anthony Pecorella from Stony Brook.
Players who were previously added during the early signing period were wide receiver Daniel Batch from McKees Rocks, Pa.; defensive back Kash Grewal from Mississauga, Ontario; offensive linemen Anton Kravchuk from Ukraine and Fryeburg Academy; Sebastian Ramery from New Milford, CT.; defensive lineman Raffael Thompson-Cazzetta from Montreal; and linebacker Shane Keyes-Wilson from Maple, Ontario.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Foley was named to the Massachusetts High School Football 2024 Super 26 All-State team after registering 65 tackles — including 12 for loss, six interceptions and three sacks. He was the Patriot League Most Valuable Player and led Scituate High School to the state title. He was a three-time league all star and two-time Division 4 Athlete of the Year.
The 6-3, 240-pound King was chosen to the all-state and all-conference team as a senior after registering 55 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks for East Orange High School which won a pair of conference titles and the Group-5 North section state championship.
The 6-foot, 170 pound Tiller was a first team all-region and all-metro for Glenn Allen High School where he had six interceptions, five pass breakups and 22 tackles last fall.
The 6-2, 205-pound Wise was a game captain at Bridgton Academy and had a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown in his first game at the western Maine prep school.
Stevens said he is “really excited” about all the newcomers including the transfers.
“We’re in really good shape compared to previous years,” said Stevens. “The coaches have done a great job and worked really hard to find prospects who fit who we are at Maine.”
The majority of the newcomers are on the defensive side of the ball.
“We had more veterans on that side of the ball last year and, through graduation and the transfer portal, we had more numbers to replace,” said Stevens, who lost six of his top 10 tacklers off last fall’s team that went 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the Coastal Athletic Association.
Stevens said he was pleased to land a couple of high school offensive linemen that they can develop.
“They’re hard to get,” said Stevens, who intends to add two more offensive linemen and some defensive players in May and June through the transfer portal.
Stevens said Mercer University (Ga.) transfer quarterback Carter Peevy is planning to return to Orono in the fall.
Peevy completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,422 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Black Bears last fall in his first season in Orono.
