Orono, Maine -- One more time, Charles Mitchell had to wait his turn. He shifted his 6-foot-1, 282-pound frame searching for his comfort zone. Wednesday, Aug. 10 was, among other things, photo day for the University of Maine football team and Mitchell hadn't yet earned the right to be among the first of the Black Bears to stand in front of the camera.

He's a redshirt freshman and in the pecking order of college football teams everywhere, redshirts don't have much standing early in preseason camp. To be a redshirt freshman means you participated in all the team drills and scrimmages during the practice week as a true freshman but had virtually no chance to get onto the football field on game day.

You abided by all the team rules, did all the work in the weight room and in practice, but got none of the glory of making a big tackle or gaining the yardage for a first down or more.

"That's OK," said Mitchell, a defensive tackle from Piscataway, NJ. "I busted my butt last year, working as hard as I could. It was a humbling year but I looked at it as my investment. Yes it is. And it's going to pay off."

Mitchell's skill set was noticed by the coaches during last year's long weeks of practice. Noticed, too, was his effort and attitude. He was named Maine's defensive scout team player of the year.

This month he and the other 10 redshirt freshmen get a bona fide opportunity to move up the depth chart this season. It's a little like letting a horse out of the barn after a long Maine winter. Redshirt freshmen have pent-up energy to show off.

Actually, the barn doors were opened during the short month or so of spring football which culminates with the traditional Jeff Cole Memorial Blue-White Scrimmage.

"I had a decent spring," said Jaquan Blair, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound wide-receiver from Harrisburg, PA. "Just to be able to show the coaches, my teammates and myself that I can have an impact and help this team." Yet Blair knows he has to prove himself all over again in the weeks leading up to UMaine's opening game on Sept. 1 at Connecticut.

Last year was an adjustment for Blair. He was a captain of his high school team, catching a school record 55 passes for 869 yards and 15 touchdowns. He helped lead the team to a Pennsylvania district championship. He, like many of the other redshirts, was used to playing and contributing in a big way on game day.

"It was hard just watching," said Blair of last season. "It was a learning experience."

At least he had company. "We'd hang out in the dorms together," said Mitchell, a two-way starter for three years at his high school. "We'd dream together how we're going to take advantage of the opportunities to get onto the field on game day the next year."

Last year's redshirts were their own support group. "We'd have breakfast together and a lot of times, dinner," said Davis Turner, a 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker from the western Maine town of South Paris and Oxford Hills Regional High School. He was twice named a first team conference all-star at linebacker. Twice he was named captain of the Oxford Hills hockey team and qualified for the javelin and shot put in the Maine Class A track and field meet.

Turner wasn't used to being a spectator, either.  "Last year was hard but playing football here is a lot of hard work and lot of getting ready."

Jack Walsh does know what it means to wait. He's a 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback who played at St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, NJ, one of the more competitive football programs in northern New Jersey. "I only started my senior year in high school. I do know what it's like to sit. It's definitely hard not playing."

Walsh is currently third on the Black Bears depth chart behind Dan Collins and Drew Belcher who took turns leading the offense out of the huddle on game day. Walsh watched and learned, mentally making a list of do's and don'ts. He tried to shine on the practice field, leading the scout team on offense, preparing UMaine's defense for its next opponent.

Walsh did well. He was named the offensive scout team player of the year.

Walsh, like so many of his Black Bears teammates, had no other Division I school interested enough to recruit him. "Two Division II programs were interested but I always dreamed of playing Division I. We all think they missed out on us."

UMaine gave him a lifeline and like the others, he's trying to make the most of it.

"You take care of the small things," said Mitchell. "You get into the playbook, get into the classes, eat right and take everything the coaches tell you and use it."

Mitchell grinned. He's mindful of whatever social life he has on campus, too. He wants nothing to stand in his way onto the field on game day. Whenever his time comes.

"When you start to get into a position where you can make a difference it really drives you even more," said Dakota Tarbox, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound junior defensive end. He played his high school football at Thornton Academy in Saco, ME. In his redshirt year, Tarbox was an understudy to tight end Justin Perillo, now with the Green Bay Packers. Two years ago, Tarbox moved to the other side of the ball and took his cues from Trevor Bates, now with the Indianapolis Colts.

This season, Tarbox is working to get much more playing time. Shedding his redshirt was "relieving" he says. "You always want to stay in the moment, get better and prove to the coaches you're the guy they can count on."

The time for individual photos and unit photos was done. The UMaine football team of nearly 90 players, including this year's true freshmen, headed for seats in the home grandstand. It was time for the team photo.

It was time for Mitchell, Blair, and the other redshirt freshmen to see themselves in the big picture.

-UMaine-

New contributor Steve Solloway wrote the stories of University of Maine athletes, teams and coaches for more than 25 years as the featured sports columnist of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. From men's basketball standout Rick Carlisle to football's Trevor Bates and the special legacy of wearing No. 9. From the first season of Cindy Blodgett and Maine's first appearance in the NCAA women's basketball tournament to the inspiring story of Ashley Drew's fight to beat cystic fibrosis and her fierce pride in UMaine sports.