Maryland running back Wes Brown will be suspended for the first three games of the season, head coach DJ Durkin announced Wednesday at the team's first media session.

While it's the third announced suspension for Brown, who was the Terps' starter in the spring game, it amounts to a reduction of a previous disciplinary move last season by then-interim coach Mike Locksley, who suspended Brown for all of this season last November for an undisclosed violation of the school's conduct code. Instead, the 6-foot, 217-pound senior will miss Maryland's games against Howard, Florida International and Central Florida.

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"Wes had a violation of the student athlete code of conduct last year before we got here and he still has a 3 game suspension from that violation so obviously we're honoring that, we're gonna serve that, and I can tell you this about Wes: I think anytime you have a young man and you discipline him, you hope the outcome is that they've learned from it," Durkin said. "They've gotten better; they've made the improvements necessary and I really feel strong that Wes has done that."

A former four-star recruit from in-state power Good Counsel High School, Brown has rushed for 1,055 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career. Despite an impressive combination of power and speed, his playing time has been intermittent due to fumbles, injuries and off-field issues. He was expected to compete for carries with sophomore Ty Johnson, Virginia Tech transfer Trey Edmunds and freshmen Jake Funk and Lorenzo Harrison. He was previously suspended for all of the 2013 season after a run-in with police.

Durkin brought him back into the fold for spring practice and he started the spring game, rushing seven times for 37 yards while the speedy Johnson exploded for 167 yards on 11 carries. With Brown sidelined, Johnson looks like a strong bet to win the starting job.

"He's been nothing but great since we've been here. He's worked really hard, he's actually really taken on a leadership role with the team," Durkin said. "We love him, we're working him and practicing with him but obviously he's still got that suspension and that's part of it and we're not gonna sidestep that so he'll miss the first three games."

With reporting from Josh Stirn.