Nebraska
football head coach Bo Pelini said sophomore Braylon
Heard will start off preseason camp in August playing both running back and
backup nickel back on defense, according to a Lincoln Journal star blog entry.
"He thought he made good
strides and put a lot of work in at nickel and didn't want to waste it,"
the coach said. "And I think he's confident (at running back). Obviously,
he played a whole year at the running back position. We think he can really
help us there. … We're going to see how it goes for a while, and then make a
decision, obviously sit down with him and see how it goes.”
The Huskers moved Heard from running
back to defensive back this spring. However, that move was made before
classmate, and fellow running back, Aaron Green announced he was transferring
to TCU.
A player
dabbling on both sides of the ball is not unusual. Florida State’s Deion
Sanders, Michigan’s Charles Woodson and more recently Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh
did such but that was in roles where they were primarily defensive players
making cameo appearances on the offensive side.
My first
instinct says, “pick a position and keep him there,” because I don’t see him
flourishing if he flip-flops. Heard is working with Ciante Evans at the nickel
back position on defense. At running back, Nebraska returns Rex Burkhead and
Ameer Abdullah but that is one position where most coaches like having as much
depth as possible. Heard had limited involvement as a freshman with 25 carries
for 114 yards.
If Heard was near playing time at either position, I
doubt they would be having him split time. I think this is a signal that they are
using him for depth, but don’t have serious plans for him. It’s just awfully
hard to really develop at either position when you can’t concentrate on one or
the other.
Although, I think Pelini’s strategy is he really doesn’t
know what he has in terms of depth at running back or cornerback. If some new
guys step up at running back and Pelini feels comfortable I’m guessing Heard
will play cornerback. I personally think it is smart to let this play out,
prepare Heard for playing either position just in case the depth at running back
or cornerback is not too Pelini’s liking.
However, if they continue this experiment for too long
before settling on one position, he should probably go ahead and redshirt,
practice at one position or the other, and then come back in 2013 ready and
available to make an impact on the field.
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