Ben Lucas is back on the football field, but maybe not quite where he was expecting.

The former quarterback at Cony High in Augusta and winner of the Fitzpatrick Trophy as the state’s top football player for the 2013 season, Lucas initially committed to play at the University of Maine. But then he changed his mind and decided to attend Wagner College – on the New York borough of Staten Island – after having surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right throwing shoulder.

The injury limited Lucas to being a noncontact participant in spring practices. Now, with fall workouts in full swing, Lucas is healthy and ready to go.

“Any time you get an opportunity to play college football you get antsy no matter what, but especially after a year of having the game taken away from you, it definitely makes it better that you get the opportunity to do it,” Lucas said.

What remains to be seen is whether the 6-foot-4, 230-pound Lucas will throw passes, catch them or maybe even block for ball carriers. Coach Jason Houghtaling said he’s still trying to figure out where Lucas will fit best, but did mention offensive line and tight end as possibilities if he can’t fit in at quarterback.

“Throughout the history of football, high school quarterbacks have changed positions at a higher rate than any position out of high school,” said Houghtaling, the third-youngest head coach in Division I at age 34.

“You recruit a bunch of high school quarterbacks, and they’re generally the best players on their team in high school and they can play a number of different positions.”

In his final season at Cony, Lucas was 222-of-369 passing for 3,842 yards, 41 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and led the Rams to the Class B state title. He admits that while his shoulder is feeling all right, he doesn’t have the same arm strength as he had as a high school senior.

“I don’t have quite the same zip on the ball that I had before, but that’s one of the things I’m trying to work out through the training camp,” he said. “There’s different things that I have to do because I don’t have the same arm strength as before.”

He’s also adjusting while returning to the game after the injury and rehab.

“Taking time off from the game, you lose some things like your reads and everything like that that you don’t see when you’re injured,” he said. “Right now, we’re still sticking at quarterback. I’m working hard at that and trying to solidify my spot there.”

Lucas would prefer not to switch positions but will if that what he’s asked to do.

“My first responsibility is Wagner College and what I can do to help the team win games, and be playing late into November and early December,” he said. “We’re just trying to improve as a team and figure out the ways that we can win a (Northeast Conference) championship and make it into the NCAA (playoffs).”

Houghtaling said if there’s a position change for Lucas, good things could happen.

“If you look at our starting tight end right now, who was a preseason all-conference pick, he was a high school quarterback,” said Houghtaling. “You look at one of our starting receivers, he was a high school quarterback. You look at another tight end, he was a high school quarterback.”

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