Freshman defensive back Isaiah Ervin of Houlton runs in a drill during practice Tuesday in Orono. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer)

ORONO — During the first few weeks of preseason workouts, University of Maine football coaches will show film of the incoming freshmen and transfers. Things got interesting when the team saw the tape of Isaiah Ervin, a freshman safety from Houlton.

“You pull up his film and the guys are counting. They’re like, you guys are missing three (players). He’s like, no, that’s how we played,” said Jalen Hairston, the Black Bears’ safeties coach and defensive pass game coordinator.

Ervin is an experiment of sorts. The University of Maine football roster has included numerous players from the state’s small schools over the decades, but Ervin is the first to join the Black Bears after playing eight-man football in high school. It has to be an adjustment, right?

“No kidding,” Ervin said after a recent practice. He said it with a grin, though, meaning that adjusting and growing pains are proving worth it.

Don’t expect to see Ervin on the field when the Black Bears open the season at Liberty on Saturday, or anytime soon for that matter. This is likely a redshirt season for Ervin, Hairston said. He’ll practice with the team without losing a year of eligibility and learn the college game. Most players entering Division I football understand simple coverages and reading keys, but Ervin is learning everything, from the basics to the deeper playbook.

“It’s a lot different playing safety here than playing eight-man football safety. In eight-man football, it was only four eligible receivers so we’d kind of just sit back. We’d play a lot of man,” he said. “We couldn’t really play a lot of other coverages. Safeties would just play a hole dropper and just try to fly around. Here, obviously we’ve got different assignments. We’ve got different coverages. It’s trying to get acclimated to everything.”

The jump to college football is big for most players. There are just 10 Mainers on the Black Bears’ roster, including offensive lineman Anton Kravchuk, a freshman from Ukraine who attended high school at Fryeburg Academy. Ervin joined the team for summer workouts, passing on the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl in the process, having not played 11-man football since junior high school.

University of Maine freshman defenseman back Isaiah Ervin, who played eight-man football in Houlton, works out at practice. (Anna Chadwick/Staff Photographer)

That wasn’t a hurdle in recruitment, said Maine head coach Jordan Stevens. Ervin and the Shiretowners attended Maine’s team camp for two years, so Stevens and his staff were familiar with the talented if unpolished kid from Houlton. It helped that Maine alum Mike Zyskowski, who lives in Houlton, vouched for Ervin’s skill and mental makeup. Zyskowski is a college scout for the San Francisco 49ers, and at one time coached running backs and was the special teams coordinator at Maine. He knows what it takes to be a college football player, and he let Stevens know Ervin is untapped potential.

“(Zyskowski) really got me wired back in on Isaiah … This is where he’s at. What could he be?” Stevens said. “He’s playing safety right now. I think we’ll see long term what position (he fits), but right now I mean the kid has been a complete joy to have.”

Ervin has the tools to play FCS football, Hairston said. At 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds, he has size to compete at this level. His frame will mature as he continues to hit the weight room. Ervin is asking questions, not just of his coaches but his veteran teammates. He doesn’t just want to know what he’s supposed to do, Ervin wants to know the why. Hairston said he never has to coach Ervin’s effort.

“It’s been a big learning experience for him, but I will say he’s a guy who’s gotten better every single day,” Hairston said. “He takes great notes. He’s constantly asking questions. He’s the guy who’s here at the end of the night. He’s a real student of the game.”

Following a senior season in which Ervin dominated the eight-man Small School North division, he was a finalist for the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy, given annually to the top senior football player in the state. Ervin did everything for the Shiretowners, running for 2,354 yards and 37 touchdowns, and passing for 813 yards and 13 touchdowns. He added another four touchdowns on special teams, and Houlton reached the regional final for the first time.

For years the Black Bears’ roster has included players from Canada who make the adjustment from 12 players to 11, and to four downs from three, the larger field and forward motion. No matter the differences in rules, the game is fundamentally the same. Ervin studies film. He gets to the practice field early and stays late. He learns.

“I always strived to play college football. I always just wanted to play athletics at the next level, and football was my best opportunity,” Ervin said. “I love football. We had a great team last year (at Houlton). Last year was really my, ‘OK, I love football’ kind of moment.”

Ervin is the first eight-man player to strap on the Black Bear helmet. He’s blazing the trail so he won’t be the last.