University of Maine football players head to practice earlier this month at Alfond Stadium in Orono. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Team meetings have taken a different meaning this year for the University of Maine football team. Instead of just concentrating on football strategies and skills, they became personal.

In each meeting, beginning with offseason workouts and continuing into training camp, coaches would pick one of two players and ask them to, essentially, introduce themselves to their teammates. It was as important to do that, said Coach Nick Charlton, as any drill performed during a practice.

“It’s about the team coming together and that was a big focus during training camp, guys getting to know each other,” said Charlton, who is entering his third season in charge of the Black Bears. “Even in the spring (season), the only time the guys got to know each other was either when they were with their roommates or on the practice field. And they wore masks, so there wasn’t much of that.”

And, said defensive coordinator Mike Ryan, that bond is important to team success.

“It’s been great to see just the interactions between the players and coaches,” he said. “Every night we would pick a couple of guys, have them introduce themselves and give a few facts. Then we’d ask a question – ‘Who’s your hero? What was a moment of adversity in your life and how did you overcome it?’ We were connecting at a higher level than just being a number on the football field.

“And now you can feel the energy in the hallway when you walk by the guys. They’re talking more. And on the football field, it shows up because guys are playing for the guys at their side. It’s a little more normal than we had in the spring.”

The Black Bears finished training camp earlier this week and are in the midst of preparing for their season opener at 7 p.m. Thursday against nationally-ranked Delaware, at Alfond Stadium.

Charlton said he was pleased with what the Black Bears accomplished during training camp.

“These guys are workers,” he said. “Watching them compete every day, I’m trying to find things to correct and pick at, and I’m not talking about schemes or techniques, I’m talking about effort, how we operate during practice, and I felt overall they really brought it every single day.

“There were only one or two days when I think I had to talk to them to push through. These guys have worked and grinded through. And I’m proud of that effort considering it’s been two years since we’ve done anything like this. … Now we’ve got to put it all together. We’ve got a great challenge in Week 1.”

Delaware, which defeated Maine 37-0 in the 2021 spring opener, is ranked fifth in the STATS Performance Top 25 and Athlon preseason polls for Football Championship Subdivision teams, and sixth in the Hero Sports poll. Maine’s schedule doesn’t get any easier in Week 2, with a game at James Madison, which is ranked first in the Athlon poll and second in the other two.

With 10 starters on offense and eight on defense returning from the spring season, the Black Bears have an experienced group. But there were several positions that got close attention from the coaching staff in training camp: offensive line, running back and linebacker. In each case, coaches saw the improvement they were hoping for.

The offensive line, which will consist of (from left tackle to right tackle), P.J. Barr (grad transfer from Bucknell), Matthias Staalsoe, Michael Gerace, Tyrie Francois and Gunnar Ducos (from Harrison and Oxford Hills High), may have shown the most improvement.

“I saw us make some big steps,” said Pat Denecke, the offensive line coach and assistant head coach. “Any time you introduce new players, it takes time to gel. It takes time to build the trust you need on the offensive line. By the end of camp, I thought we played our best football.”

The linebackers, led by returners Adrian Otero and Xavier Nurse, were boosted by transfers Ray Miller (Campbell University) and Brian Lee, Jr. (Saint Francis University).

At running back, Elijah Barnwell, a junior transfer from Rutgers, and Freddie Brock, a sophomore, seem to have established themselves firmly as the first two. “They really complement each other,” said Maine’s offensive coordinator, Andrew Dresner. “That’s the most important thing. They’re a good one-two tandem for us.”

Barnwell is the tough inside runner, capable of breaking tackles for extra yardage. Brock, said Dresner, “can make you miss in a phone booth.”

Maine should have one of the Colonial Athletic Association’s top passing offenses, led by quarterback Joe Fagnano and receivers Andre Miller and Devin Young.

Charlton likes what he saw in training camp. Now, he said, “We’ve got to put it all together. The guys are confident, hungry. We’re underdogs, out here to prove what we can do. … The work ethic is there. Certainly we’ve got the talent. It’s time to come together.”

NOTES: Freshman wide receiver Logan Martin, the former Foxcroft Academy star from Dover-Foxcroft, will miss the season after suffering a knee injury in the team’s final scrimmage. He is expected to have surgery shortly to repair a torn ACL. “He’s back on campus and in meetings,” said Charlton. “He’s a big part of this team.” … Charlton said his team is about “98 percent” vaccinated.