COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Just minutes into the Maryland football team's third day of preseason practice Wednesday, that all too familiar sound resurfaced. The crunch of pad against pad was discernible across the practice field as players, adorning extra protective gear than in days past, partook in various contact-inducing drills.

The 2008 preseason formally began Monday, but day three marked the first practice in shoulder pads, ushering in a heightened level of play. From the moment defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre greeted running back Da'Rel Scott at the line of scrimmage in a drill shortly after the team finished pre-practice calisthenics, it was clear preseason truly had arrived.

Players on both sides of the ball wore shoulder pads, but the Terrapins defense proved to be the greater beneficiaries. Led by the performance of the secondary, which is looking to replace three of four starters from a year ago, the defense looked dominant at times during the team drills.

Defensive backs Nolan Carroll, Kevin Barnes and Jeff Allen each snared interceptions, with the latter two resulting from the pair of crafty seniors jumping routes and returning their picks for touchdowns. Carroll produced what was perhaps the play of the day when he dove to make a shoestring catch on a pass deflected by defensive lineman Mack Frost.

Thankfully for the Terps' offense, quarterback Josh Portis found his stride partway through the team period, generating yardage when he began operating the first team - a move head coach Ralph Friedgen made to test the less-experienced signal-caller.

"The defense was getting the better of the offense in the beginning, and then Portis came in and kind of turned things around," Friedgen said. "I thought he had the best day at quarterback."

That the defense stole the show Wednesday was somewhat predictable for the Maryland coaching staff. The team implemented several blitz packages during drills for the first time, including one in which offensive linemen were pitted against their adversaries across the trench with the goal of protecting a tackling dummy.

"Today pressure went in, so that is always is an interesting dynamic to see how they deal with it," Friedgen said. "Normally the defense is ahead on that day."

One bright spot offensively occurred during one-on-one passing drills, when redshirt freshman wide receiver Tony Logan caught a touchdown on a deep fade pattern, prompting offensive coordinator James Franklin to exclaim, "That's beautiful! I love these touchdowns - the defender can't find the ball!"

Despite the growing pains experienced by the offensive unit during the early portion of camp, Friedgen has high hopes for that side of the ball - due in large part to the presence of Franklin. A former member of Coach Friedgen's staff who returned to the Terps during the off-season, Franklin has freed up time for the head coach, while also providing enthusiasm, attention to detail and a personable nature for dealing with student-athletes.

"I know he's helped me out," Friedgen said. "If you want the truth, I look back and don't know how I did it [without Franklin], to be honest with you, because I was doing the same things he's doing with being the head coach, too."

The team finished practice by running sprints, and many players welcomed an opportunity to soak in tubs of ice water following the warmest practice yet. The Terps return to the practice field Thursday afternoon for the fourth of 24 workouts scheduled during the 2008 preseason.

Terp Notes

Football Tickets on Sale: Season tickets for this fall's seven-game home slate start as low as $189 and are on sale through the Maryland Athletics Ticket Office. Single-game tickets went on sale Monday. To purchase season or single-game tickets, call 1-800-IM-A-TERP or click here.