Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley observes players on the field during warm-ups before the Terps’ 49-28 loss to No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 10, 2015.

Under interim coach Mike Locksley, Terrapins football practices have a different feel.

Offensive linemen take turns trying to catch a touchdown pass against their defensive counterparts. Music plays before team meetings. And the scout team got a rare chance to run two live plays Tuesday.

The changes are designed to create a looser atmosphere as Locksley pushes his team to embrace the underdog mentality ahead of Saturday’s game against Penn State in Baltimore.

READ MORE: Locksley wants Terps to have fun in second half of season

Left guard Andrew Zeller said the players have responded positively to the new attitude, and Locksley is hoping they can take a relaxed mindset onto the playing field.

“The thing we’ve really stressed is let’s go out and have fun and play football in its purest form,” Locksley said, “which is back in the day when you played with your friends and you went out in the backyard and you just let it all cut loose. That’s the mentality you want to play with because we really have nothing to lose as a program.”

The intrasquad competitions, such as the ones between the offensive and defensive linemen, are something Locksley has tried to foster since he replaced Randy Edsall on Oct. 11. At practice Tuesday, the scout team offense and defense competed in a simulated goal-line situation.

As for the music played at the 7 a.m. team meetings, Zeller doesn’t know all the songs that are played, but he complimented Locksley’s music selection.

“That kind of gets guys energized before practice,” Zeller said. “Listening to the music gets them pumped up.”

While Locksley said the Terps shouldn’t feel pressure on the field, that doesn’t mean he will excuse any careless mistakes or undisciplined football. And his looser coaching style isn’t necessarily a reflection on Edsall, Locksley and Zeller said.

Locksley simply wants the Terps to get back to enjoying football after a 2-4 start and a midseason firing.

“A team takes on the personality of its leader,” Locksley said. “When your kids go through tough times, you need to lighten the mood up a little bit.”

LOCKSLEY MOVES COCKERILLE BACK UNDER CENTER

Just a few months after former ESPN four-star quarterback recruit Shane Cockerille requested a position change, Locksley asked him to move back.

The redshirt sophomore has played in all six games as a backup fullback this year, but with graduate transfer quarterback Daxx Garman “a little banged up,” Locksley wanted an extra body under center.

Cockerille was listed as the co-backup quarterback with Caleb Rowe on the Terps’ depth chart Monday behind starter Perry Hills.

“It gives us some depth there,” Locksley said. “It gives us a big body who has the ability to execute this offense.”

Cockerille has a similar skill set to Hills, and Locksley said that played a role in the decision. Cockerille was a dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school, while Hills rushed for 170 yards against No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 10, a program record for a quarterback.

Freshman starting wide receiver D.J. Moore has never been on a team with co-backup quarterbacks, but said Cockerille has adapted well to the unique situation.

PENN STATE RIVALRY GAME

After the Terps’ victory over Penn State last year, Edsall ended his postgame interview on live television with four words: “Let the rivalry begin.”

Last year’s 20-19 win at Penn State was a start, Locksley said Tuesday, but he maintained that rivalries grow over time. Last year’s contest was the first between the programs since 1993 and the Terps’ second win in 38 games against the Nittany Lions.

“Rivalries are usually started by being competitive on the field,” Locksley said.

While the Terps refused to shake hands before the game — something that won’t happen this year, Zeller said — the players don’t view the Nittany Lions as a big rival.

“In the locker room, there’s not much of a rivalry,” said Zeller, who is from Pennsylvania. “It’s more of a fan thing.”