Maryland football running back Trey Edmunds worked hard to reach perfection as a player at Dan River High School.

Not only because he knew college recruiters would be tracking his progress — the former Terps staff was among the programs that showed significant interest — but because his dad, Ferrell Edmunds Jr., was his coach. He expected the best from his son.

Edmunds’ effort garnered him a scholarship to Virginia Tech, where he went from 2012 to 2015, playing the latter three years and amassing 957 yards and 13 touchdowns. This spring, he arrived in College Park — his father’s old stomping grounds as a former Terps tight end — as a graduate transfer eager for a change in scenery.

He found that Saturday afternoon in the season opener against Howard. Edmunds logged two scores in a performance that earned him the distinction as a co-starter in the backfield on the team’s latest depth chart.

“Of course he held me to a higher standard, but, you know, I just had to take that with a grain of salt and go out there and just play,” Edmunds said of his high school experience. “I got that grind started in me at an early age, so by the time I got to this point — and coach [DJ] Durkin and the rest of his staff are the exact same way — [I] like it and I appreciate it.”

Edmunds and his dad talk on the phone every day, covering “a lot of wisdom about football, about life,” the Danville, Virginia, native said.

In Ferrell’s Maryland career from 1984 to 1987, he amassed the 10th most career receptions yards (1,641) and 11th most receptions (101) in program history before becoming a third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins.

Given his father’s experience, Edmunds takes his father’s reminders to play for the names on the front and back of his jersey. His father also guides Edmunds to have a short memory if he makes a mistake. Edmunds, though, didn’t have many lapses to dwell on in his debut, rushing for 48 yards on six carries in limited time as the coaches turned to reserve players after an early lead.

With about six minutes left in the first quarter, Edmunds took two straight handoffs in the Howard red zone. For the first, he plowed through a slew of Bison defenders to the 3-yard line. Then he ran off of right tackle Damian Prince’s block to scamper into the end zone untouched.

Edmunds carried the ball with the physicality Durkin expected but hadn’t seen often because of the squad’s non-contact work in the preseason.

“You get to the game, you get to see really all he can do,” Durkin said. “The thing about Trey is some of his runs don’t quite show in practice what they’re going to look like in games because he runs so hard. He’s a big physical guy. He’s hard to bring down.”

“People might be surprised, you know, first game, but he’s been playing like that every single day since training camp,” left tackle Michael Dunn said. “Seeing him out there was just a normal thing for us.” Edmunds’ dad was on the field as his son scored in front of student section and was surrounded by celebratory teammates.

The Big Ten Network captured his reaction as he watched Trey cross the goal line. He clapped and laughed, cheering “My boy!” He shook his head with a smile still plastered across his face.

Edmunds saw the video after the game and was happy to have made his dad proud.

But by that time, the two already had a conversation about next week. Ferrell congratulated his son but reminded him to stay on top of his class assignments and turn his focus to preparing for Florida International on Friday.

“He told me some things I could work on after the game,” Edmunds said. “Grind never stops.”