Terrapin wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey had been held in check for much of the football team’s first intrasquad scrimmage Saturday when the preseason All-American found a seam in the secondary and hauled in a 38-yard pass from senior quarterback Jordan Steffy.

Three plays later, senior cornerback Kevin Barnes sat in the end zone cradling the football after grabbing a tipped pass for a momentum-killing interception.

“That’s what they do,” Heyward-Bey said of his team’s secondary. “Hopefully, they can do that against another team when the season starts.”

The secondary, which must replace three starters from last year’s team, has gotten some quick experience working against a talented group of wide receivers that features five players who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds or less.

After constantly competing during seven-on-seven drills throughout the summer and battling through the beginning of preseason camp, the wide receivers and the secondary are very familiar with each other. The competition between the two groups runs high, and coach Ralph Friedgen hopes that can push both units into the ACC elite.

“I think it helps,” Friedgen said. “They get to go a lot of different periods against each other, and there’s good competition there.”

While the receiving corps makes life easier for whoever wins the starting quarterback job as well as offensive coordinator James Franklin, it also provides a luxury to the secondary.

“Expectations are already high from what you practice against,” said Barnes, the secondary’s lone returning starter. “It’s not really a shock once the game comes.”

Barnes, who led the Terps with four interceptions last season, normally lines up across from Heyward-Bey during drills to bring together a battle of talents that is exceptional, even by ACC standards.

Heyward-Bey said after working together for so long the cornerbacks and wide receivers begin to know each other a little too well.

“I just try to run at them full speed at all times and give them different looks,” Heyward-Bey said. “We try to show them different types of looks, so they’ll be ready on Saturdays.”

Junior cornerback Nolan Carroll, who returned an interception for a touchdown during Saturday’s scrimmage, calls the Terps’ receivers the best in the nation.Carroll, a former wide receiver who is battling for the starting spot opposite Barnes, sees their speed and athleticism up close on a daily basis. He said it’s not fun trying to play press coverage against a Terp wide receiver running a fade.

“They make you think so much about them running by you, but they can run other routes,” Carroll said. “By the time you realize it, they’re running a slant or a comeback.”

Friedgen said he’s been pleased with both units so far in camp. He likes the talent that has emerged in the secondary, including Carroll and USC-transfer Antwine Perez, and expects Barnes to have a big senior season. Even as the offense focuses on selecting a starting quarterback, Friedgen has expressed confidence in the overall passing game.

The Terps have two more weeks of chasing each other around before the season opener against Delaware on August 30 – a chance to work against a new opponent.

Heyward-Bey said he’ll be ready because of the competition with his teammates.

“It’s been tough,” Heyward-Bey said. “We’ve really been going back and forth.”

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