The statistics, or in the case of Gabe Hinds, the complete lack of them, lie. If you look at the University of Maine football team’s stat sheet from any of the past three seasons, and brush off Hinds because his name doesn’t appear anywhere, you’re missing the point, and missing what a valuable member of the Black Bears Hinds has become.

“He is probably one of the most dedicated people on our team,” quarterback Chris Treister said of Hinds, a Cony High School graduate. “He’s not one of these guys who goes out and gets a bunch of reps during games, but he does every single thing the coaches ask of him. Getting reports written, extra work in the weight room, anything like that, he’s the first guy to raise his hand.”

Treister and Hinds joined the Black Bears together in 2007. Treister was the highly regarded quarterback prospect out of Portland. Hinds was coming off a strong career as a four-year starter under center at Cony, where he played for his father Tom, just looking for a chance to play.

Two years into his career at Maine, the coaches moved Hinds from quarterback to defensive back. He could have transferred to a Division II or III school, like so many other players who decided getting on the field at a lower level was better than putting the long hours in at a Football Championship Subdivision school, only to pace the sidelines every Saturday, if they dress at all.

Hinds stayed at Maine.

“I’ve thought about that before, but I’ve had a great experience here, and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I wanted to play at the highest level of competition,” Hinds said. “I had the opportunity to play here, and I couldn’t pass it up. I wanted the biggest challenge I could get, and it’s made me a better person.”

Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove knows he needs players like Hinds in the program.

“We moved him to defensive back to try and give him a chance to get on the field. He’s embraced it,” Cosgrove said. “Gabe is that classic coach’s son who wants to be around the game of football all the time. He’s well-respected and trusted by his teammates. They know his commitment is the type of commitment we want.

“The position he’s playing right now, those are our best players. Those are our best athletes. It’s tough, but hopefully, he might get an opportunity this year as a senior, to get him out on the field.”

With no promise of playing time, Hinds continues to work his butt off in practice.

“That’s where you get good. You’ve got to work on your skills, all over the map, whether it’s blocks, recovery skills, it’s the little things that made the big difference. That’s how you make the step from good to great,” Hinds said. “I’m still learning. You can learn every day, get better every day, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

While you won’t find a list of game highlights on Hinds’s official University of Maine biography, here’s what you will find: “Named a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner.” Three times.

“He’s really dedicated in the classroom, and that’s a key point every football team needs. A lot of college football players don’t understand that there is a life after football,” Treister said.

Actually, there’s a very good chance that Hinds’s life after football will include more football. Brian Gaine, the Director of Player Personnel for the Miami Dolphins, played tight end for Maine in the mid-1990s. Cosgrove sent Gaine a copy of Hinds’s resume.

“There’s an industry of football out there now. For a guy like Gabe, it’s not just talking about being a high school coach. There’s so many things that you can do. Scouting, college coaching, there’s player development areas,” Cosgrove said. “Gabe might be a guy who’s great in the player personnel department. He might be a great scout, watching film and looking for college players.”

Working in the NFL has been a dream job for Hinds since junior high school. If that doesn’t work out, the Exercise Science and Kinesiology major might start work on his Master’s degree, with an eye on a doctorate down the road..

As the son of a coach, football is in Hinds’s blood. Hinds will watch an NFL or college game, and instinctively break it down, Treister said, inserting Maine’s terminology for the play he sees on the television.

“He’s a football nerd,” Treister said,

The football nerd is going to relish his last few months as a Black Bear.

“Coach Cos says all the time, ‘If you can be a Division I football player, you can be anything.’ And I truly believe that,” Hinds said. “I’ll remember that the rest of my life. Whatever I do down the future, it will be easy.”

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

 

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