ORONO, Maine — Freddie Brock had an outstanding season for the University of Maine’s football team last fall.
Not only did the running back lead the team in rushing with 720 yards on 132 carries for an average of 5.5 yards per carry, he was also the team’s fifth-leading receiver with 18 receptions for 137 yards.
He ran for seven touchdowns and caught three TD passes.
He was chosen to Phil Steele’s All-Colonial Athletic Association fourth team and was selected as an honorable mention on the preseason All-CAA team picked by the league’s coaches and media relations directors.
He averaged 65.45 rushing yards per game last fall, but had gained 88.8 yards per game over his last four games, including his 76 yards on 12 carries in the team’s season-ending 33-20 win at the University of New Hampshire.
However, there was some concern about his status for this season when he suffered a fractured left fibula (calf bone) in the third quarter of that UNH game.
After undergoing surgery at St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor and going through an extensive rehabilitation program, Brock said he is healthy and ready to go.
“It feels great,” Brock said on Wednesday. “The surgery went well.”
The two-time CAA Rookie of the Week has high expectations for this season.
He actually feels “a little quicker” and said he felt the same way in high school when he returned after fracturing his right ankle playing basketball, although that injury didn’t require surgery.
“I was pretty much happy with last season, but I want to be a 1,000-yard rusher this year, and I’d like to score a few more touchdowns,” Brock said. “I want to get one percent better every day.”
The 20-year-old Rochester, New York, native said he wants to “get downhill more vertically, lower my shoulder and burst through the hole.”
He isn’t very big at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds.
But he compensates.
“He’s a shifty guy,” said graduate student center Mike Gerace. “He will find a hole even if there isn’t one there. He hits gaps hard when he needs to, and, when he’s in open space, he’ll make defenders miss.”
Gerace added that Brock picks up a lot of extra yards with his cuts and ability to bounce off tackles.
“He won’t be complacent with a three-yard run. He’ll turn it into six, 10 or even more yards,” Gerace said. “He makes our jobs easier. He makes us look better.”
“He is a good playmaker for us,” said senior quarterback Joe Fagnano. “He means a lot to our offense. He’s an explosive guy. We try to get him the ball any way we can. He comes to practice every day with the intent of making himself better and he makes guys around him better as well.”
Fagnano added that he has “great hands,” is a “real good student of the game” and is a good blocker as well.
Brock said he likes first-year head coach Jordan Stevens.
“He’s a great coach. He is disciplining us every day to work harder and have a culture,” he said. “It is an honor to wear this Black Bear shirt. You have to own it.”
Brock was the team’s leading rusher during the abbreviated four-game spring schedule (due to COVID-19) with 165 yards on 29 carries.
He said the Black Bears have a stable of good running backs, including graduate student Elijah Barnwell, who carried the ball 117 times for 514 yards last fall, junior Tavion Banks and senior John Gay.
Stevens said Brock has the ability to “turn a negative play into a positive play.
“He can make plays, he has great vision and great instincts,” said Stevens, who added that Brock has an impressive knowledge and feel for the game.
“And he’s a very tough kid. He is an all-around football player. He welcomes the physical part of the game,” Stevens said.
It’s important the team gets off to a good start when they open the season at the University of New Mexico on Sept. 3, Brock said.
New Mexico is a Football Bowl Subdivision team, which is one step above UMaine’s Football Championship Subdivision.
UMaine started 1-4 last season before winning five of its last six to finish 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the CAA.
“We need to get out of the gate fast in the first game,” Brock said. “We’ve got a pretty good schedule, so we can’t get off to a slow start,” he said.
The Black Bears were picked to finish eighth in the CAA preseason poll, and Brock considered that “disrespectful.
“We’re way better than that. We will have a chip on our shoulders this year. We’re going to prove that we aren’t an eighth-place team,” Brock said.
