Sincere Baines set a school record at the University of North Carolina Pembroke last season by averaging 7.59 yards per carry. That was also the best among all NCAA Division II rushers.
And based on last week’s 118 rushing yards against Football Bowl Subdivision team Liberty University, the University of Maine running back, along with Rashawn Marshall and Nick Laughlin, could supply the Black Bears with their best ground game in several years.
Marshall, a redshirt at UMaine last season, ran for 76 more yards.
The two of them combined to average 8.8 yards per carry.
Converted wide receiver Laughlin from Cape Elizabeth missed the game due to a hand injury and will also miss this Saturday’s 6 p.m. Coastal Athletic Association opener at William and Mary (Virginia).
“This is the most natural running back room we’ve had in my time here,” said UMaine fourth-year head coach Jordan Stevens. “The guys are gifted and have a vision and a feel for playing the position. I’ve been really pleased with how those guys have competed.”
UMaine rushed for 184 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per carry which is even more impressive when you consider it was against a team from the FBS, which has more scholarships and financial resources than Football Championship Subdivision teams like UMaine.
“They’re tough,” Stevens said about the Black Bear running backs. “Rashawn Marshall is 180 pounds but he plays bigger than that. Sincere is a big, tough kid who has a lot of game reps under his belt. I’m really excited about the progress both of them have made.”
UMaine had averaged more than four yards per carry in just one season since 2017, and that was Stevens’ first year in 2022 when the Black Bears averaged 4.4 yards per carry.
Rushing statistics can be misleading because lost yardage, mostly via sacks, is also counted.
“I want us to continue to make a point of emphasis when it comes to blocking and running the football,” Stevens said. “We don’t want it to be just a one-game thing. We can build on it and it can be something we can lean on.”
Baines and Hawkins said they have always been running backs dating back to their youth football days and they thoroughly enjoy playing the position.
“I love scoring touchdowns,” said Baines, a 5-foot-11, 180-pounder from Fayetteville, North Carolina, who scored UMaine’s only touchdown on a 77-yard run.
He scored 11 TDs at UNC Pembroke last year and 25 in his last year at Jack Britt High School.
“I like making people miss,” said the 5-10, 170-pound Marshall, who is from Newark, New Jersey. “I like scoring touchdowns and it feels good running in the open field away from everybody.
“It’s a different feeling,” Marshall added.
Baines said he didn’t dwell on the fact that he was going from playing Division II competition to an FBS team.
“I just look at it as playing football. Football is always going to be the same. I just keep stacking days in practice and then go out and execute on Saturday,” said Baines.
Marshall called his first career college football game “surreal.”
The running backs feed off each other and it benefits them.
Marshall said Baines “is a little bit older and has more experience so I try to take things from his game and implement them into mine.”
Baines has similarly learned a lot from Marshall.
“He’s very shifty and I want to add his moves into my game,” Baines said about his teammate.
They were pleased with the way they were able to establish the running game and move the football and credited their offensive line with providing them with holes and running room.
“I’m very proud of how we played as a group. I want to give a shout-out to the O-line. They played a hard game. They blocked very hard which helped us do what we do,” said Marshall.
“I’m expecting a big year,” said Baines. “The O-line does its thing, the receivers do their thing as well. Overall, we have a great offense and we’ll be able to show it real soon.”
Baines and Marshall wound up at UMaine because they felt wanted by the coaching staff and liked the coaches’ sincerity and caring nature, which has translated into a positive environment and camaraderie on the team.
“They’ve built a culture and I wanted to be part of that culture,” said Baines.
They have had to adapt to the colder weather but enjoy being in Orono.
“I love Maine. It’s very peaceful,” Marshall said.
The Black Bears will have their hands full on Saturday with a William and Mary team that was picked seventh in the CAA preseason coaches poll after coming off a 7-5 season (4-4 in the CAA). UMaine was chosen ninth in the poll.
William and Mary, a 23-21 loser to Furman last weekend, has five preseason All-CAA picks in tight end Trey McDonald, punt returner Carson Jenkins, linebacker Luke Banbury, cornerback Jalen Jones and defensive lineman Davin Dzidzienyo.
The Pride limited Furman to just 58 rushing yards.
Junior Tyler Hughes is in his first season as a starter and completed 19 of 31 passes for 208 yards against Furman with a touchdown and an interception and he was also the game’s leading rusher with 57 yards on 12 carries and a TD.
“Their quarterback is dynamic. They run a lot of quarterback draws, things that allow him to have space to be an athlete and play backyard football. He does a nice job throwing the ball as well,” said Stevens. “Their defense gave up only 58 yards rushing to a very tough Furman team. They have good returners and a good punter.”
Stevens said the William and Mary team is tough and skilled all around.
