ORONO — It was late August, 2008, and Steve Shea’s football resume consisted of exhibition games at Nokomis Regional High School, one all-star game and a redshirt season at the University of Maine. And there he was, starting at right guard for the Black Bears in front of 70,585 screaming fans in the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium.

Shea was lined up across from Hawkeye defensive tackle Mitch King, who was about to begin an All-America season.

“He was a beast. We studied him for weeks,” Shea said. “It was a pretty big step up.”

Welcome to college football, Mr. Shea. Welcome to football, period.

Since joining the Maine football team out of Nokomis, where football was still a club sport when he graduated, the 6-foot-3, 295-pound Shea has learned the game and built himself from an unpolished prospect into the Black Bears’ most multifaceted offensive lineman.

As the Black Bears work through training camp in preparation for the season opener at home against Bryant on Sept. 3, Shea is penciled in as the starting right tackle.

“I’ve had a start at every position (on the offensive line) now. I’m looking forward to this right tackle spot,” Shea said.

Both Shea and Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove know that, while he’s the team’s right tackle now, that doesn’t mean that’s where Shea will end the season. If a teammate gets hurt, Shea could make a move down the line.

“He’s played a lot of roles for us, and he’ll do the same this year. He can snap the football, play guard and play tackle,” Cosgrove said. “We’re not going to be Scot-free of injuries. Steve could be a guy who ends up helping us at other spots. It’d be nice to be able to not do that to him, to say ‘Steve, this is your position. Get good at it. Let’s win with you here.’ But I know when we think of him, we think of his versatility, which is a bonus for us.”

When he arrived at Maine in 2007, Shea was nothing more than a giant block of potential. Cosgrove recruited Shea after seeing the Corinna native play in the Black Bears’ football camp. The Maine coaching staff didn’t scout Shea, because really, there wasn’t much to scout.

“We gave him an opportunity, and he’s certainly made the most of it. That’s a great credit to him,” Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove compared Shea to former Black Bear tight end Matt Mulligan, who came out of Penobscot Valley High School as a football neophyte. Mulligan is now in training camp with the New York Jets.

“Mulligan, he didn’t even know how to get in a three-point stance when he got here. Steve was a little further along than that, but the culture of football, the year-round experience at big high schools that some of our players come from, he’d never experienced that,” Cosgrove said. “He was really raw. I mean, really raw.”

Shea wasn’t just untrained in on-the-field skills. He had to learn how to approach football as a full-time commitment and balance that with his academic course load.

“It’s a hard game. The time commitment, it takes a lot out of you. Back in the high school days, you were just out there for three hours at a time,” said Shea, a Kinesiology major. “You’re putting in around 20 hours a week, and more hours on top of that that you put in yourself. It was a big jump, but I took it, and it’s been for the better.”

The encouragement of Frank Giufre, Maine’s offensive line coach, helped keep Shea going.

“Coach Giufre told me I could play at this level, and I believed him,” Shea said.

Shea started planning every day out to the minute. Academics, football, everything had its allotted time.

“There’s a tremendous learning curve,” Cosgrove said. “He now has an absolute handle on that.”

After redshirting the 2007 season to learn how to play college football, Shea stepped into the lineup in 2008. Playing that first game in front of the large and loud Iowa crowd showed Shea what he was getting into, and he loved it.

“Stepping out on to the field was a heck of a sensation. You hear the crowd roar. You hear it here, too,” Shea said, pointing to the stands at Maine’s Harold Alfond Stadium. “It’s a new thing every time when you step out on the field, and you hear that crowd.”

The Black Bears finished seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association in rushing (132.2 yards per game), and fifth in the conference in passing (189.8 ypg) last season. With eight starters back on offense, including Shea’s linemates Joe Hook, Chris Howley, Josh Spearin and Garret Williamson, Shea expects good things from Maine’s offense.

“We all have experience on the line right now,” Shea said. “Right now, our motto is ‘Pound the rock.’ We’re going to try to run it. We’ll throw it when we have to, but definitely we’ll try and run all over people.”

Shea knows he won’t be the last football player to come to Maine without a deep football background. His advice to them is simple. Follow it and prepare to listen to the crowd roar.

“Stick at it and believe you can do it,” Shea said. “Take every opportunity you get, and don’t look back.”

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

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