ORONO, Maine — It didn’t take long for the smattering of fans who braved Saturday morning’s rainstorm to attend the University of Maine’s 19th annual Jeff Cole Memorial Spring Football Game to have something to cheer about.
The game honors the late former UMaine football assistant and pits UMaine’s offense against the defense.
On the first play from scrimmage, graduate student quarterback Carter Peevy sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown on a designed running play. The fans also saw an impressive stable of running backs including Cape Elizabeth’s Nick Laughlin, who is making the transition from wide receiver to the backfield.
Coaches made that decision in January to get Laughlin the ball in different ways, UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens said. He said Laughlin has developed physically and become “a big, strong skill player” with a lot of stamina.
“You get the ball into his hands and he makes some magic happen,” UMaine offensive coordinator Mikahael Waters. “We’re trying to find a way to get him the ball as much as we can.”
Waters praised the Maine product for having some of the best contact balance on the team, rarely going down after the first hit. Laughlin said being a multi-sport athlete in high school helped with that. He also played hockey and lacrosse at Cape Elizabeth High School.
Laughlin’s new versatile role is similar to the one he had in high school. He has put on 10-15 pounds to reach his current weight of 210. He has focused this offseason on learning the blocking schemes that he will see in college.
“It’s definitely a lot faster at running back than it was in high school,” he said.
Laughlin scored his first college touchdown last fall against Football Bowl Subdivision power Oklahoma on a five-yard run. UMaine is in the Football Championship Subdivision, which has 22 fewer scholarships and resources than FBS teams. He was a recruited walk-on, but he earned a full scholarship early last season.
Laughlin, who also played on all four special teams last season and had five tackles and a 22-yard kickoff return, said his career has exceeded expectations up to this point.
“I never thought I would be here, scoring a touchdown at Oklahoma, traveling all over the country,” Laughlin said. “It’s been awesome.”
Transfer running backs Sincere Baines from the NCAA Division II the University of North Carolina-Pembroke and Rashawn Marshall from Division III Rowan University (N.J.) also had impressive outings on Saturday. Stevens said Laughlin, Baines and Marshall make up one of the best running back groups the Black Bears have had in years.
“They each have their own niche,” UMaine running backs coach Pushaun Brown said. “Sincere is very decisive. He hits the hole and keeps moving his feet so he can get downhill. (Marshall) has the ability to make people miss in a phone booth.”
In addition to his 75-yard TD run, Peevy scampered 12 yards for another touchdown. The coaching staff intends to utilize the quarterback’s running skills more this fall.
“He was pulling away from [defensive backs]. That is always great to see, having a quarterback who can create explosive plays with his feet,” said Brown.
Peevy had a tender knee most of last season which limited him. He carried the ball 87 times for 349 yards but he also lost 278 yards mostly due to sacks which produced a net of 71 rushing yards. He is healthy now, and he said he is happy to run every now and then.
“We can’t live and die by it, but if I can help the offense in the running game, I’m more than happy to do that,” said the Mercer University (Georgia) transfer who completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,422 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall. “Coach Waters and the offensive staff do a great job designing those plays and using them when we need them.”
In addition to Laughlin, several other Maine natives saw considerable playing time on Saturday and Stevens has been impressed with them.
Redshirt junior Jack Boutaugh from Turner is a starting offensive guard and Fryeburg senior Eli Mahan is the starting tight end. Turner sophomore Jace Negley is a defensive tackle and another Turner native and former Leavitt High School standout, Noah Carpenter, saw duty as a linebacker.
UMaine opens the 2025 season at FBS team Liberty University (Virginia) on Aug. 30.
