New London — Darius Adams knows a lot more about football than he did last year at this time.

“I know how to put a uniform on now,” Adams said with a laugh. “I feel a lot more prepared.”

Adams, a senior wide receiver on the Coast Guard Academy football team who hails from Nassau in the Bahamas, tried the sport for the first time last year and was abundantly successful. He was named the New England Football Conference Offensive Rookie of the Year and was a first team all-conference selection after finishing with single-season school records of 1,054 receiving yards and 13 touchdown receptions. He tied the Coast Guard record twice with three touchdown receptions in a single game.

For an encore, he won the Division III national championship in the long jump this spring.

Coast Guard football coach Bill George, more than anything, wants this year's team to not get ahead of itself, with a first-year quarterback in Ethan Goldcamp and a star player, Adams, in only his second year of organized football.

But Adams, smiling on the first day of practice Monday afternoon in the rain, will be the first one to tell you he needs to get better.

“I'm trying to improve on everything week to week,” Adams said. “Every day improve on something. You can make the block for touchdowns. I was watching film today (from last year) and I saw a couple spots I messed up on.

“There's a sense of urgency as a senior, the expectations people have for you,” Adams said. “People expect to see the same (number of touchdowns) or more. I just want to go out and play and do the best I can.”

The Bears finished 3-7 overall last season, 2-5 in their final year in the NEFC. This season, despite the return of 14 starters — seven on each side of the ball — brings a great deal of change, including a new conference. It is the inaugural season of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, of which Coast Guard is a member in all sports.

In addition, Goldcamp, a junior, takes over at quarterback, replacing record-setting four-year starter Derek Victory, who graduated. Goldcamp, who is 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, was 44-for-88 with 599 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions last season. He came off the bench in a 37-35 loss to Catholic and threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns.

Coast Guard opens the season Thursday night, Aug. 31, against Alfred State in New London. The Bears play their first NEWMAC game at Norwich University on Sept. 23. The team's rivalry game with Merchant Marine moves to the final game of the season and will be played on Veterans Day and televised by ESPN.

Adams, one of a group of veteran receivers who were the beneficiaries of 3,222 passing yards in 2016, broke into a grin when asked about Goldcamp.

“He had a good couple of games last year. He can sling the ball,” Adams said. “Everybody has a lot of confidence in Ethan.”

“Ethan's ready. No question,” said senior wide receiver Cody Bain, who was named co-captain of the team along with senior defensive back Ryan Robertson. “… Ever since the day he got here, he's asked questions. Derek did a great job passing his knowledge down. (Goldcamp is) only a junior, but this is his team.”

The Bears were 16th in the country with 322.2 passing yards per game and allowed just 11 sacks.

In addition to Adams, the receiving corps includes Bain (team-best 55 catches, 783 yards, 3 TDs) and Chip Crowley (38 catches, 459 yards, 2 TDs), both of whom started all 10 games. Liam Middleton is a 6-6, 225-pound tight end who caught his first career pass, a 21-yard touchdown pass from Victory, in the season finale last year against Western New England and whom George believes has promise.

“We take pride in what we do,” Bain said of the receivers. “We want to be the best athletes we can be wherever we go. We have some great athletes and great personalities. Of all the years, this is a solid group.”

George, entering his 19th season as head coach, knows this team has potential. He just wants it to be clear that nothing is passed down from season to season.

“You don't inherit things. They have to be learned. Knowledge is gained. Experience is gained,” George said. “How is Ethan going to react when the defense picks him off and starts jumping up and down? He's the quarterback at a national service academy. That's a high-profile position.

“… Just because we have three or four sophomores that played three or four games, that doesn't make them All-Americans. We have to jell as a football team.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com