UMaine senior Marcus Wasilewski always wanted to be quarterback. He never played any other position. He always knew he wanted to play Division-I football, too — and right now, he’s playing at another level to help push the Black Bears to a 3-1 start.

The Kulpmont, Pa. native is in his final year as the Black Bears’ offensive leader and is coming off some solid performances to start the season.

Last year was a breakout season for Wasilewski. He played in all 11 games and threw for 2,364 yards on 206-338 passing, with 21 passing touchdowns. He averaged 214.9 yards per game, rushed for 420 yards on 96 touches and produced three touchdowns on the ground as well. This placed him second in the Colonial Athletic Association in passing yards, third in completions and fourth in total offense.

Wasilewski is continuing that success this season with 739 passing yards, 5 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions in the Black Bears’ first three games. He’s completed 65.9 percent of his passes and averaged 246.3 yards a game in the air. This compares favorably to his previous average of 4 TDs for 581 yards and just a 40-percent completion rating.

“We’re happy with getting three wins but at the same time we don’t want to get complacent,” Wasilewski said. “In this league and this conference, ‘three wins’ doesn’t mean a whole lot right now.”

Wasilewski is also the team’s leading rusher and can scramble when needed. He’s rushed for 204 yards on 34 attempts with 2 TDs in the first three games.

The senior quarterback doesn’t take all the credit for his success and is especially excited about the attitude of the team and the locker room.

“It’s just one brotherhood. You can tell guys really care about each other on this team and I’m just proud of the way we’re getting things going with the offense backing up the defense and the defense backing up the offense. It’s something that makes this team different from any other,” Wasilewski said.

Wasilewski’s performance in UMaine’s home opener against Bryant University saw the senior produce five total touchdowns and 263 passing yards to go along with 64 rushing yards. He scored a rushing touchdown on the opening drive and hit four different receivers for each of his touchdowns.

“It was one of the loudest kickoffs at a home game I can remember since I’ve been here,” Wasilewski said. “It was great to see the amount of support for the home opener and we hope that continues throughout the season.”

Although the Black Bears are having a lot of success, Wasilewski thinks there’s more to work and improve upon.

“We need to work on being a little bit more discipline[d] and not having any turnovers,” Wasilewski said. “I need to keep working on my reads and continue to lead the offense in the right direction.”

Wasilewski is humble in his success and attributes many of his accomplishments to his friends, family and teammates.

“My father has been at every game since I was 5 years old playing flag football and hasn’t missed any games really to this day,” Wasilewski said. “He always pushed me to the limits as hard as he could to be a better person and better player.”

Wasilewski has been through hardships with his friends and family, including the loss of his mother during his freshman year of college. He uses all of his past experiences as motivation to keep going and fighting.

“She battled cancer for three years and I take that to heart with me wherever I go. It’s something that really drives me and my teammates know and it drives them as well. It’s just something that takes its toll but makes me push as hard as I can every day.”

“Marcus really is a football guy and a quarterback guy at the same time,” head coach Jack Cosgrove said. “He loves the game and loves the responsibility of being a quarterback.”

As the quarterback is an extension of the head coach on the field, both Wasilewski and Coach Cosgrove have been on the same page to start the season. Having that kind of chemistry and smoothness when running an offense is key.

“For the most part we’ve really been spot on in the decision making of things,” Cosgrove said. “He’s the guy that puts us in the right play.”

Wasilewski is also a leader when it comes to responsibility. The quarterback is constantly trying to improve and is his own worst critic when it comes to his play on the field.

“He’s still getting better, which is refreshing, and he’s a guy that will really look at his performance,” Cosgrove said. “A guy that’s able to take it all in and look back at it like that is who he is.”

UMaine’s fast start comes with a lot of expectations, but Wasilewski and the Black Bears believe anything is achievable this season with hard work.

“The bar is set high right now. The sky’s the limit,” Wasilewski said. “We just need to take it one game at a time and one practice at a time, and as long as we do our job and play to our capabilities there’s a great future for this team.”