COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Maryland football team battled the heat during its fifth day of training camp on Friday. It marked the Terps first practice of the fall in full pads.

The heat certainly didn't damper the spirits of the players and coaches.

"That was a long hard practice," said first-year head coach DJ Durkin. "It was good. Obviously there's good and bad to it all. There are some things we did well and some things we didn't do so well, but I'm just proud they keep competing. We're going to keep doing that. We're going to keep grinding here for a while." 

With the first two-a-day practice set for Saturday, the Terps coaching staff will continue to challenge the players.

"We're just creating that culture of mental toughness," explained Durkin. "I don't care what you do or how you play or what you're doing on offense or defense or whatever. The majority of games are going to come down to the end. To me, the mentally tougher team usually wins those games. You have to find a way to fight it, push through - trying to be comfortable when it's uncomfortable. We're just trying to put them in uncomfortable situations until they get comfortable."

One of the big position battles early on in camp is at running back, where the Terps return two key contributors from last season, but also welcome a number of new faces that could see playing time right away.

"I think our running back group is doing really well," said Durkin. "There's good competition, there's depth at the position. It's great, because it's one of those things where one day to the next one guy maybe shows up more and it adds to the competitive edge to the room. That's what you want, when you get it right at all spots on the team you have that type of competition and everyone just gets better."  

-Maryland-