Coach Randy Edsall said Tuesday that “it takes time, especially if young people aren’t used to being held accountable,” for the Terps to become the team he envisions on and off the field.

In describing members of the Terrapins football team, coach Randy Edsall invariably comes back to two words: young men.

Nine months into the first-year coach’s inaugural season in College Park, though, the Terps have shown that, as a whole, they haven’t yet fully embodied Edsall’s ideal of model citizenry.

Even as most of the Terps have embraced his no-nonsense philosophy, there have been hiccups along the way.

“When you come in with the type of program you’re going to run, it takes time, especially if young people aren’t used to being held accountable,” Edsall said Tuesday, just two days after announcing the reinstatement of suspended wide receivers Quintin McCree and Ronnie Tyler. “It’s not just what happens on the football field. It’s what happens each and every day that you’re around these young men.

“The process doesn’t happen overnight because people don’t just change overnight. And you have to go through the process. This is the first time we’re going through a season here and these kids are seeing exactly what we’re doing.”

That process started his first day on the job. After inheriting a team that had lost three scholarships for poor academic performance and 12.5 percent of its weekly practice time for practice violations under former coach Ralph Friedgen, the straight-laced Edsall knew he’d have to initiate wholesale change before the program could truly become his.

At his first team meeting in January, Edsall told players to take off their hats and do-rags.

The changes didn’t stop there. Players are expected to be clean-cut and presentable. Flashy jewelry must be removed for team activities. Tardiness is met with strict punishment. And jerseys, in an effort to promote a team-first attitude, no longer display players’ names.

Growing pains have accompanied Edsall’s culture shift, highlighted by four suspensions this season. Tyler and McCree each missed two games for their involvement in an off-campus altercation that left Tyler charged with second-degree assault after allegedly punching a man in the face and subsequently fleeing from police. Before that, running back D.J. Adams and offensive lineman Cody Blue were suspended for the Terps’ season opener for undisclosed rules violations.

“It’s just a change. Everybody’s used to one thing and everybody just has to adapt,” defensive tackle Joe Vellano said. “I think everybody’s bought into it at this point. Right now, everybody’s good. We have no problems. Grades-wise, everybody’s doing good.”

“He wants everyone to do the right thing,” linebacker Kenny Tate added. “He’s definitely a no-tolerance guy. Once we get everybody on board, which we have now, and we can focus as a team, I feel like that’s when we start moving forward.”

There seems to be a disconnect, however, between the discipline and passion Edsall has preached and the product the Terps have put on the field.

They’ve lacked fire since their season-opening win over Miami, coming out flat in losses to West Virginia and Temple.

And although struggles are expected anytime a new coaching staff is hired, the frustration of the past two games has left Edsall looking for answers.

“You work very, very hard to play 12 Saturdays,” Edsall said. “And the expectations are, when you play that game you go out and play it with great enthusiasm and great passion. I don’t know what was expected before, I just know what I expect.”

So far, the Terps have put forth a 60-minute effort on only one of three Saturdays. Their performance on the next nine will likely lay the foundation for the rest of Edsall’s time on the sideline at Byrd Stadium.

“There’s a process coming in and establishing a program,” Edsall said. “You’re not establishing a team. At least I’m not, because to me a team is just from year to year and what you have to do is you have to establish a protocol for how everything is done.

“If you don’t ever establish the process and establish the footings and the foundation, you’re never going to be where you want to be.”

cwalsh@umdbk.com