COLLEGE PARK - As expected, heat dominated the first day of practice for Maryland newcomers yesterday, with temperatures reaching the low 90s.
Because of that, Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen moved the morning practice to 9:30 a.m., but the afternoon practice remained at 4 p.m.
A device that records air moisture found 85 percent humidity at the practice field - "dangerous enough right there," the coach said - though most of the 21 players showed no signals of distress during the early practice.
But tailback Jason Crawford left the afternoon practice with cramps.
Friedgen said he is considering moving one of Saturday's practices to the evening if the heat persists.
Randy Starks, a highly regarded defensive tackle from Waldorf, expressed weariness at the conditions. "I'm not sure the water breaks help," he said.
At the same time, he was resigned to the fate of laboring under the raspy voice of defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo.
"Usually, you can bend down and take a breath," Starks said. Sollazzo "won't let you. You want to lay down, but you can't."
Starks, 6 feet 5 and 305 pounds, is one of the freshmen Friedgen expects to make an immediate impact. He is a high school All-American who plays a position at which the Terps lack depth.
The coach showed hopefulness about Starks after his performance in the bench press - which registered at 390 pounds - and nearly made his required time in sprint tests.
"As a kid, my concern about Randy Starks is, `Are you big enough and are you strong enough?' " Friedgen said. "I think he's strong enough. We just need to see if he's mature enough to handle the situation."
Starks said he was impressed by the increased level of play from his high school days. He was relatively coy about his prospects, saying, "Hopefully I can get a little time.
"I'm not looking to jump in and start right away. If it happens, it happens."
Starks and Crawford are the two newcomers with the greatest possibility of starting in 2001, followed by Mario Merrills (Wilde Lake), who is also challenging for a tailback spot.
Friedgen said he was unsure how many freshmen would be able to help Maryland this season.
"I'm hoping to get a few," he said. "When you're counting on freshmen, you're not in a good situation. Anyone who plays is icing on the cake. With the 85 [scholarships] rule, more and more freshmen are playing."
NOTES: Matt Crawford, an offensive tackle who missed the final two games of last season, should be at full speed when the whole team has its first practice on Saturday. ... Friedgen was impressed with long snapper Jesse Kluttz (Fallston), who was signed late when last year's snapper, Jimmy Connolly, was declared academically ineligible.
