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North Texas’ football practice fields are back in use with busy bodies taking part in three weeks of spring practice that begins Wednesday. The annual rite and tuneup for the fall be very different from a year ago when 78 scholarship players and walk-ons participated. This year, more than 100 will be participating. For a program slashed-and-burned and reseeded by coach Dan McCarney three years ago, that’s a bigger development than someone actually fully grasping calculus with infinitesimals. Competition for positions and playing time will be at its height under McCarney, who believes that is the best script for ensuring that the fittest survive at every slot on Saturday afternoons in the fall when the Mean Green begins its first season in Conference USA. The season opens at home against Idaho on Aug. 31. The team’s green and white spring game is at 2 p.m. April 13 at Apogee Stadium. No other position exemplifies this new reality than at quarterback, where two-year starter Derek Thompson faces perhaps the stiffest test of his football career against returning letterman Andrew McNulty, a junior, and Brock Berglund, a highly touted sophomore transfer from Kansas who is eligible after sitting out last year. “When I say it’s wide open, it’s wide open,” McCarney said of a number of position battles. “And if a two-time starting quarterback and captain leading our offense … understands that, and he does, then you better bring your A-game every day.” Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/19/4714604/competition-heats-up-as-north.html Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/19/4714604/competition-heats-up-as-north.html#storylink=cpy