New London — Here was the running back of the future a year ago, then-freshman Chris Gardner. The coaches loved his ability. He carried the ball 10 times for 46 yards in a Sept. 23 victory at Norwich, as the Coast Guard football team made a triumphant debut in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.

And then Gardner became the 2017 poster child for freshmen at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Struggles with calculus and chemistry led to him needing extra time for academics.

He carried the ball only seven more times for nine yards the remaining six games.

“I was upset I let myself get in the situation,” Gardner said Wednesday prior to practice at Cadet Memorial Field, as the Bears await their Aug. 30 opener at home against the University of New England.

It’s something coach Bill George talks about every season, the reemergence of his sophomores.

Before their freshman year, the cadets go through a grueling Swab Summer regimen at the academy. By the time the fall athletic season begins, many of them have lost weight and have weary legs. Others get swallowed by academics.

“It can put a person in survival mode,” George said of the difficulty of adjusting to the academy. “You don’t want them on a football field (like that). Listen, it’s the nature of college football everywhere. You have 18-year-old kids butting heads with 23-year-olds who have been lifting weights for five years. Guys reemerge here as a sophomore.”

Credit, then, to Gardner, for his perseverance.

Gardner, at 5-foot-10, 230 pounds, is now the running back of the present, too, listed as the Bears starter in the backfield, where he will be joined by another talented sophomore in Jon Wagner.

The Bears have a pair of sophomores at wide receiver, as well, Justin Moffatt and Odell Graham, as well as sophomore defensive back Colby Coco, who played in eight games last year and grabbed an interception. George said in the team's preseason preview that he is "expecting a lot" from this class.

“It comes down to focus,” Gardner said of why an athlete would even attempt to attend the Coast Guard Academy with its difficulty made apparent. “You gotta kinda know what your destination is in life.

“At prep school (Naval Academy Prep in Newport), I had problems with my grades. I knew you’ve really, really got to push through and keep your head high. Don’t let that get you down.”

After the Norwich game, Gardner knew he needed extra time for his academics. He made it to football practice about twice a week, the rest of the days spent staying after class for help.

“I talked to the head coach and the offensive coordinator and, along with my academic advisor, they got me on the right track. I knew what I had to do. I had to get my head in the books and get my test scores up. … Now, I’m getting the chance to perform.”

Moffatt, meanwhile, was the Bears' leading receiver as a freshman, playing in all 10 games. He finished with 27 catches for team-bests of 438 yards and four touchdowns, including a 68-yard touchdown catch against rival Merchant Marine in the final game of the season. Moffatt, however, also had a midseason lull, going two straight games without a catch.

Moffatt attributes it more to a dry spell by the entire offense following a season-ending injury to starting quarterback Ethan Goldcamp, than he does hitting the freshman wall.

Moffatt, a 6-1, 200-pound wide receiver, attended NAPS alongside Gardner and calls them best friends. They were also both stationed in Key West for six weeks this summer. Moffatt, whose grandfather was a U.S. Marine pilot during the Vietnam War, said he has always wanted to attend a military academy.

“You kind of got to want it yourself,” Moffatt said. “I was big in going to a service academy my whole high school career.

“… It was everything I expected it to be. I’m very happy to have (freshman year) over with. Honestly, I think I take it one day at a time. If you look down the road, that can get to you. I just think, ‘I have a test today, then practice.’ If you take it like that, you get through it fine. I made a bunch of best friends here.”

George, beginning his 20th season, said recruiting players to the academy necessitated a bit of a learning curve at first.

“You’re recruiting kids that have an interest in the Coast Guard Academy,” George said. “You’re recruiting kids that want this. Do they have the grades? What do they look like on their high school film? But just educating people that this is how it is. The place is a very small, very diverse school. It’s not created around football. … You have to compete. You have to compete in practice. I don’t make any promises.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com