Chris Mulvey remembers his first session of spring football at the University of Maine.
âWhen I was a freshman, spring ball was the biggest turning point of my career,â said the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Mulvey, who will be a senior offensive lineman this fall. âIt was where I learned to play with Division I players.â
Maine plays in the Colonial Athletic Association, which canceled spring football practices late last week âin an attempt to mitigate the further spread of the coronavirus,â according to a news release. Other conferences soon followed.
The Black Bears had 15 practices, including three scrimmages, canceled. They were to begin next Tuesday and end on April 24 with the annual Jeff Cole Memorial Spring Game.
UMaine has switched to online learning for the rest of the spring semester and most students have left the Orono campus. There are about 20 football players still living on campus and they work out in small groups. Those who returned home are receiving workout plans to use at home if they cannot return to Orono.
âAnyone who sits there and says losing spring ball is not a big deal, theyâre not being honest,â said UMaine Coach Nick Charlton. âBut at the same time, the most valuable part of our program is our players. We know how severe everything is and sometimes there are things bigger than sports. Itâs a difficult situation for everyone and weâre trying to make the best of it.â
Charlton said it is difficult to come up with a plan âbecause everything is changing day to day. Weâre evaluating every day what goes on, university-wise, and nationally. If the university remains open despite classes being on-line, we want to make it an option for guys to come back and do what weâre allowed to do.â
Maine is keeping in touch with its players through Zoom, a cloud-based video conferencing application that has been installed on all their computers. âWeâre trying to be as proactive as possible,â said Charlton.
One emphasis, he said, has to be on academics. âThe biggest thing is making sure the guys do what they need to do academically to remain eligible,â said Charlton. âWe keep at it. We have daily communication and weâre staying on top of it.â
The other emphasis is on safety. âSpring ball is important in terms of the development of players,â said Charlton. âBut you canât have a football team without players. Weâve got to keep our guys safe (from exposure to the virus), thatâs the No. 1 priority right now.â
Mulvey certainly understands that. âWhatâs the first thing coaches say to your parents when they recruit you? âIâm going to keep your son safe,'â said Mulvey. âThey want to keep us safe.â
Spring football is always most important for the younger players and those who have played backup roles. âItâs where you learn everything, said Mulvey.
âThat first fall, you walk onto campus like a baby deer who doesnât know how to walk yet. Then you learn in the spring. Itâs one thing to learn something on the chalkboard. Itâs another to actually do it.â
Deering High graduate Raffaele Salamone, who will be a junior defensive tackle, would have prospered from spring football. He has played in only three games his first two years, but with three defensive line starters graduating, this was his chance to make an impression.
âI was banking on it for getting myself a head start for playing time come fall,â said the 6-3, 266-pound Salamone, who is home in Portland but lives in an apartment in Old Town. âI guess Iâve got to roll with the punches now. When camp starts in August, the stakes will be higher.â
Salamone said the toughest part was not knowing what to expect. âNo one knows anything,â he said. âWeâre kind of waiting to hear something to base a schedule on. I guess the big thing is to act like spring ball is still going on.â
âYou canât simulate some things without practices,â said Old Townâs Andre Miller, who will be a senior wide receiver. âBut youâve got to keep yourself ready to go for whenever we get the date to go back.â
Maine had several positions to look at in spring ball. The Black Bears are experienced at linebacker, cornerback and offensive line, but they graduated their top two wide receivers and top two rushers.
And, Charlton said, âWe want to continue to develop our quarterback, and all our other quarterbacks, because weâre going to be young there.â
Joe Fagnano stepped in as a freshman when Chris Ferguson was injured and started the last six games, passing for 1,835 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 65.8 percent of his passes. After Ferguson transferred to Liberty, Maineâs depth chart at the position includes four freshmen and sophomore Grant Hartley of Auburn and Edward Little High.
âJoe is young and the running back position is wide open,â said Charlton. âThatâs disappointing. I wanted to see those guys and open that competition up.â
Fagnano, 18, is back home in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he plans to work out with some of his former high school teammates.
âBeing away from the guys, itâs more mental than physical,â he said. âYouâre going to have to do a lot more on your own.â
Fagnano said he was disappointed to lose his first spring season.
âI was looking forward to it, looking to establish myself as a leader,â he said. âBut adversity hits and youâve got to stay positive. These are tough times, but weâve got to stand together.â
Thatâs the message Charlton gave the players as they broke for spring break.
âOne day we will be playing football,â he said. âWe need that perspective now. And when that day comes, we need to be ready.â
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