Transfer cornerback is making the most of his opportunity at UMaine

ORONO, Maine — Even though he wasn’t getting any playing time, Alhaji Kamara kept his head up and kept working hard at Football Bowl Subdivision school Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, saying “I knew my time was going to come one day.”

It never came in two years at Old Dominion but it did a year ago after he transferred to the University of Maine, which is a Football Championship Subdivision program.

FBS schools have 22 more scholarships and many more resources.

Kamara started all 11 games at cornerback for the Black Bears in his first season in Orono and was involved in 31 tackles including two for lost yards. He had an interception, three pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

He already has five tackles and an interception in his first game this season and the interception came with seven seconds left and clinched a 17-14 win over Colgate last Friday night.

Kamara is going to be an important part of the Black Bear defense, especially with the departure of fellow cornerback Kahzir “Buggs” Brown, who transferred to FBS school Florida Atlantic after leading UMaine in tackles with 61 a year ago.

“He has become a complete player,” said UMaine head coach Jordan Stevens. “It was good to see him end the game last week.”

The UMaine coach said he has seen Kamara’s confidence as a leader grow and noted that “we put him in that position because he was our most consistent guy. It’s exciting to see him continue to grow and develop as a leader and his play has improved as well.”

Kamara was happy with his play last season because it was his first time he had seen game action in college.

“But I want something better. I want more interceptions this year. I want to make more tackles and be a better teammate,” said Kamara.

Graduate student safety Robby Riobe said Kamara has grown mentally and physically.

“He is getting better in the run game,” Riobe said. “He is getting off blocks (to make tackles). He has definitely improved his tackling form.”

Kamara said getting stronger and improving his play against the run has been a primary focus and he is also working on becoming more of a ballhawk.

“I left a lot of plays on the field last year. A lot of interceptions. So I’m going to grab as many interceptions as I can,” he said.

One of the people Kamara wants to impress is his older brother Sulaiman Kamara, a defensive lineman who played in 73 career games at Atlantic Coast Conference school Wake Forest (North Carolina).

“We always talk. He is my role model. I watched him go through the recruiting process. He had a great career. I grew up wanting to be just like him and I’m trying to be even better,” said Kamara.

His brother played a significant role in him landing at UMaine.

Tom McEntire spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at UMaine after spending the 2017 and ’18 seasons on the staff at Wake Forest when his brother was there.

“We had a connection and wound up talking about Maine,” said Kamara.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Kamara, a native of Richmond, Virginia, said he wasn’t surprised he was able to step in and be a starter right away last season because even though he didn’t play at Old Dominion he worked hard every day.

“So nothing was new to me. It was hard in the beginning but once I started the first two or three games, I started getting my confidence. And I don’t worry about it now,” said Kamara.

He said he loves Maine and feels the Black Bears are going to have a good season in the wake of a pair of 2-9 campaigns.

“We’re looking to prove to others what we’re capable of. I know we can win a lot of games,” said Kamara.

The Black Bears will have a sizable challenge at 8 p.m. on Saturday when they visit Montana State to take on the nation’s No. 3-ranked Bobcats, who are 2-0.

“We’re ready for it,” said Kamara.

The defense will get a stern test because the Bobcats are second in the FCS in rushing offense, averaging 350.5 yards per game, and fourth in total offense (529 ypg).

“We have to stop the run,” said Riobe. “They run the ball a lot. If we can stop the run, we can win the game.”

Running back Jaharie Martin transferred to UMaine from Montana State and said he is excited about the opportunity to play against his old team.

“This has been on the calendar for a while. I’m not trying to get too high, too early. I’m still focusing on the game plan and what we have to handle,” said Martin, UMaine’s leading rusher in the win over Colgate with 66 yards on 15 carries.

He has told his UMaine teammates that there will be an adjustment, elevation-wise, from 121 feet above sea level in Orono to 4,820 in Bozeman, Montana.

And they can expect a loud crowd.

“Both are key talking points. The elevation will be a factor for a little bit. They will have one of the best FCS crowds in the nation. They are going to be loud and rowdy. But if we just go out there, execute our game plan and make the plays we need to, they won’t be a factor,” said Martin, who will be facing former UMaine tight end Rohan Jones, the Bobcats’ second-leading receiver with seven catches for a team-high 91 yards.