The University of Maine has added a quarterback from the transfer portal after starter and team captain Derek Robertson transferred to Coastal Athletic Association rival Monmouth University in New Jersey.
Carter Peevy, a dual-threat signal-caller who led Mercer University from Macon, Georgia, to a Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth this past fall, announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he will be joining the UMaine program. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Robertson announced on X that he will play for Monmouth, where his older brother Jimmy is the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
The two quarterbacks could square off on Sept. 14 when Monmouth visits UMaine’s Morse Field in Alfond Stadium.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Peevy completed 202 of 304 passes (66.4 percent) for 2,284 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions this past fall for Mercer, which went 9-4 including a 17-7 Football Championship Subdivision playoff win over Gardner-Webb.
The Bears were eliminated in the second round by No. 1 South Dakota State, 41-0. South Dakota State went on to win the Football Championship Subdivision title.
Peevy had the nation’s 14th-best completion percentage among quarterbacks at 122 Football Championship Subdivision schools.
He also rushed for 324 yards on 125 carries and ran for 12 touchdowns, including a 2-yarder and a 72-yarder against Gardner-Webb.
He completed 16 of 26 passes for 122 yards against Gardner-Webb and ran for 43 yards on 11 carries. He was sacked five times and that lost yardage is reflected in his rushing stats.
The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native was the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year for the spring season in 2021.
He was second in the conference in passing yards (1,318) that spring and was third in completion percentage (54.3 percent), passing efficiency (133.0) and passing touchdowns (8).
He became the first quarterback in school history to throw for more than 400 yards in a game when he threw for 406 in a win over No. 17 Furman.
That was one of three wins he engineered over ranked teams with the others being No. 9 Chattanooga and No. 20 Eastern Tennessee State.
Robertson completed 63.9 percent of his passes (258-for-404) last fall for the 2-9 Black Bears and was an All-CAA honorable mention. His 2,933 passing yards were third most in UMaine history and 10th most in the country. He threw 25 touchdown passes and was intercepted 13 times.
However, he rarely ran the ball. He carried it 29 times for minus-104 yards.
Robertson concluded his UMaine career throwing for 4,466 yards and 37 TDs with 17 interceptions and a 59.2 percent completion rate (383-for-647).
In addition to Peevy, the others who will be competing for the quarterback job include Anthony Harris, who is a senior this year; current freshmen Caden Drezek and Keegan Andrews; and incoming recruit Eddie Buehler from Rhode Island.
Harris is the only one who got some playing time this past fall, completing 13 of 18 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
