DJ Durkin has been Maryland's football coach for a shade over six months, and in that time on the job — which he had been waiting a "long, long time for," he said when he was hired in December — he's worked to put his stamp on a program that went 3-9 last season. Durkin has preached relentless toughness, energy and intensity to his team on the field, and his players have responded for an easy transition to the first-time head coach.
But at the National Zoo in Washington on Thursday night as part of the annual Maryland Pride tour, Durkin was holding court in a far different space than usual.