Players State Their Position

That night, back in his apartment, Darryl Poston felt horrible.

USC coaches had pulled him aside and asked him to switch from tailback to cornerback--or at least consider it--and Poston agreed. But something felt wrong. So he returned to practice the next day and told them, somewhat timidly, he wanted to stay put.

“They said all right,” the sophomore recalled. “But I knew in the back of their minds they might have been upset.”

It happens all the time in college football. Players are asked to change positions because the team has a gap to fill or maybe a coach has an inkling that a particular athlete’s skills might be better suited to a different spot.

Sometimes, as with Poston, it is a suggestion. Other times the player has no option. Either way, it can be a prickly situation for a teenager facing what amounts to a major career change, balancing his desires with the fear of angering a coach.

Just look at the Trojan team finishing spring practice this week. With the defensive backfield thin, receiver Marcell Allmond has moved to cornerback. Matt Grootegoed--recovering from injury--is projected as a starter at linebacker after moving from safety last season.

Those players were not given much choice because the team needed them to change. Allmond, in particular, was eager to please after sitting out last season for disciplinary reasons.

Across the line of scrimmage, however, Matt Cassel is playing quarterback after months of talking with coaches about becoming a tight end. For him, the decision was wrenching.

With Carson Palmer ensconced atop the depth chart, Cassel appeared in several games last season as an H-back, catching a 12-yard pass and running the ball three times for 22 yards. Coaches suggested he spend next fall as a receiver, then return to his natural position after Palmer graduates.

Like Poston, he went back and forth. Then he worked up the nerve to walk into Coach Pete Carroll’s office.

“I’m a 19-year-old kid going to see the big guy,” Cassel said. “You don’t know how he’ll react.”

Carroll says he respected the sophomore’s sincerity and, in this instance, could afford to let him remain at his original position. Still, the situation raises a question: Would players have voiced their opinions in this manner 20 years ago?

“Probably not,” said offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who has been in the college game for three decades. “But times have changed.”

Carroll agreed: “The whole world is different than 20 years ago.”

But Carroll wants to be clear about something: If the team needs a player to switch, he will switch. Carroll also pointed to potential benefits.

Grootegoed was selected to a couple of freshman all-star teams at his new position. Former linebacker Kori Dickerson caught 25 passes for 334 yards as a converted tight end last season.

The payoff could be even greater for Antuan Simmons, who went from cornerback to safety for a few games before changing back and making a between-the-legs interception for a touchdown against UCLA. Last week, in a private workout for the San Francisco 49ers, pro coaches told him they liked his versatility.

“There are success stories,” Carroll said.

For now, Cassel is thinking only about quarterback and says he is more focused on the field, more relaxed running the offense. The other day, he threw a 55-yard touchdown pass in a scrimmage.

Poston has shown some spark in practice, too, running harder and more confidently than last season. His motivation comes from a slightly different source.

“Every day I have it in the back of my head,” he said. “If I don’t perform, I’m going to get switched to cornerback.”