ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine football team will have a new quarterback next season after Carter Peevy finished up his eligibility last fall as an All-Coastal Athletic Association honorable mention selection.
Head coach Jordan Stevens could have gone into the NCAA transfer portal to find a quarterback with experience but said he didn’t feel the need to.
He said he has confidence in veteran backups Caden Drezek and Eddie Buehler, who will be competing for the job along with redshirt freshman Michael McMaugh.
Drezek is the only one with playing time as he appeared in two games last fall and completed 7-of-13 passes for 58 yards. He was intercepted once and sacked once.
He will be a redshirt senior and in his fourth year in the program in the fall; Buehler will be a redshirt junior in year number three in Orono; and redshirt freshman McMaugh will be in his second year but first fall campaign.
The trio is currently involved in spring football, which will culminate in the 20th annual Jeff Cole Memorial Spring Football Game on Saturday, April 25.
Cole was a former UMaine assistant coach who died of cancer in 2004.
“They have all been really competing at a high level,” said Stevens. “I’m pleased with all of them. Just how they’ve approached the off-season, how they’ve approached the weight room and how they have approached growing into leaders.”
Stevens said he is in a fortunate position in that “two guys have been here for multiple years and Mike has been here for a semester. I’m really pleased with how they have worked and continued to press and find a way to continue to get better.”
He also likes the fact they know the offense.
“It’s not like a lot of new moving parts with pieces they aren’t familiar with,” Stevens said. “It’s just a matter of putting it together and going out and executing. And they have responded well.”
They all have different skillsets and personalities, he said, and they all have the ability to “extend plays” by scrambling.
Stevens outlined what he will be looking for in a starting quarterback.
“Number one, I want a fierce competitor at that position,” he said. “A guy who is willing to put everything on the line to go out and execute and win a game for his teammates. I want him to be accurate and be a leader so the players have a quarterback to believe in. Someone who will fight and compete at a high level.”
Buehler, a native of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, and McMaugh, who is from Moultonborough, New Hampshire, are both 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, while Seymour, Connecticut product Drezek is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds.
“They work extremely hard in the weight room. They’re doing a great job,” said Stevens.
Senior tight end Eli Mahan said the team has confidence in their quarterbacks.
“There’s a lot of depth in the quarterback room,” said the Fryeburg native. “They’re all working on becoming the best quarterbacks they can be right now.”
The transfer portal has reshaped the roster as All-CAA second team free safety Devin Vaught, All-CAA third team running back Sincere Baines, center Nicolas Cruji and nose tackle Jaedin Lee have transferred to Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
FBS schools have more scholarships and financial resources than Football Championship Subdivision teams like UMaine.
Vaught, who had a team-leading three interceptions and tied for the team lead in pass breakups with five while being the second-leading tackler with 60, has transferred to Michigan State.
Baines, the Black Bears’ top rusher with 709 yards on 122 carries for a 5.8 yards per carry average, is now at Western Kentucky. Cruji is at Charlotte and Lee is at Rutgers.
Lee had 32 tackles including 3 ½ for lost yards.
The Black Bears have added 11 transfers in defensive backs Alex Nash-Lally (Delaware), Ervin Wiggins (Albany), Jeremiah Harris (Saint Francis) and Ismael Taylor (Army-West Point); wide receivers Malik McNeely (Virginia Military Institute) and Keyon Concepcion (Concord University); tight end Tyreek Wood (Morgan State); linebacker Nathan Gunderson (Dodge City Community College); defensive tackle Derek Berlitz (Central Connecticut State); and the Curry College duo of long snapper Conway Bradshaw and kicker-punter Omar Aboutoui.
