College football coaches make the switch when needed

TEMPE, Ariz. – Walking around as his players stretched during practice, Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer stopped to have a word with starting fullback Zach Boren.

“Hey, we’re going to move you over because guys are limping,” Meyer told the senior.

And with that, Boren, an offensive player his entire career at Ohio State, was the Buckeyes’ starting middle linebacker against Indiana.

A move of desperation? Not exactly.

Boren was a star linebacker in high school, had been begging the coaches to play on defense and the Buckeyes were banged up at that position, so it seemed like a good fit.

And it’s not like Meyer is the only one moving players around.

Coaches across the country have been swapping out players like chess pieces.

Not just offensive linemen swapping spots or a cornerback moving to safety, either. Players are being moved from one side of the ball to the other, going to positions they hadn’t played since high school or at all.

Sometimes it’s out of necessity, moves to fill holes created by a lack of depth or injuries.

Too much depth can also lead to changes, coaches wanting to give talented players buried on the depth chart a chance to get on the field. Sometimes it’s just a coach playing a hunch, to see if it’ll work out.

“You have to project guys along the way,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “That’s absolutely something you have to be able to do, in my opinion, in developing your program.”

It takes a lot of players back to their high school days where two-way was the only way for some.