Labeling Maine’s Mike Brusko as just a quarterback would be an understatement.

Last year, the fifth-year senior started the season as a wide receiver and finished as the starting quarterback. Not to mention he saw some time in special teams coverage and had two punts on the year.

‘Mike just wants to be on the field,’ Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove said. ‘He wants to do more than just be the backup quarterback, so we found places for him within our offense.’

Splitting time with another quarterback, Warren Smith, Brusko looks to be all over the field on Saturday as he leads the Black Bears (2-1) into the Carrier Dome to take on Syracuse (1-2). The game marks the first meeting between the two programs and is set to kickoff at 7 p.m.

Brusko came to Maine as a quarterback, even though he played a number of positions in high school. His first varsity start came at free safety, and by his senior year he was the starting quarterback.

‘If I had to pick one (position), I would definitely say quarterback is my favorite,’ Brusko said. ‘That’s just the position I have been playing my whole life, and I think that’s the mentality that I have.’

He spent his sophomore year at Maine in a two-horse race for the starting job. He started the first three games of the year and finished the year starting in the last two.

Though he did see substantial playing time at the beginning and the end of the season, Brusko couldn’t handle the down time in between. He talked with his coaches and decided to switch positions. For the first game of his junior year, Brusko lined up as a wide receiver.

‘I knew there were other ways that I could help the football team, and the coaches saw that as well,’ Brusko said. ‘They gave me the opportunity to play some receiver and do some stuff on special teams. They felt that I could contribute in other ways and that was something I was absolutely open to doing.

‘I have told them since day one, I just want to be on the field. I just want to be out there helping the team. Whatever they need me to do, then that’s what I’ll have to do.’

Even though Brusko was content at wide receiver, he still had an urge to play quarterback and still served as the Black Bears’ backup.

After five games as a wide receiver, Brusko was given another shot to prove himself as a quarterback in 2008.

Midway through the second quarter in a game against Delaware, starter Adam Farkes suffered an injury, and Brusko was given the keys to the offense.

He finished the game 5-of-7 for 65 yards with 40 rushing yards and the eventual game-winning touchdown. Brusko also caught two passes for 13 yards in the early going and had a tackle in punt return coverage. To top it off, Brusko also had a punt in the game, pinning the Blue Hens within their own 5-yard line.

‘He is invaluable,’ Cosgrove said. ‘His versatility is something that helps us do more than what we normally could do if we didn’t have a guy like him. In the course of that Delaware game, he just did so many things, and I think a player like that is so invaluable.’

Brusko became the starting quarterback for the rest of the season and led Maine on a seven-game winning streak that propelled the Black Bears into the Division I-AA playoffs. It was only the fifth time in school history that Maine qualified for the postseason.

The Black Bears lost their first game in the playoffs to Northern Iowa, but it was still a successful year for a team that exceeded expectations.

Brusko threw for a total of 936 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also was given the opportunity to run out of the backfield. He finished with 417 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Despite leading his team last year, Brusko still finds himself as more than just a quarterback this season, splitting time with Smith, a sophomore.

Smith, a transfer from Iona, adds a new dimension to Maine’s offense, Cosgrove said. It only made sense to give them both playing time. Cosgrove still sees some deficiencies in Brusko’s game and thinks he still has some improving to do in order to become a full-time starter.

He hasn’t been playing as much as he did last year and has only thrown for 141 yards, while rushing for an additional 122 yards with three total touchdowns.

Though it would have been reasonable for Brusko to complain about a decrease in playing time, he has kept his cool and is doing what he can to help the team win games.

‘That’s my responsibility as a captain, as a leader of this football team and as a fifth-year senior,’ Brusko said. ‘I’m the guy who has been through it all, really. I have just done my best to embrace it. I’ll do anything that gives us a better chance at winning football games. It’s my responsibility to help my team in any way that I can.’

rwmarfur@syr.edu