So it has been at N.C. State for such players as Koyal George and Robbie Leonard, John Bedics and Ted Larsen, and others. Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien and his staff have made personnel shifts, using spring practice to see if the players can handle new assignments, fill team needs.

A year ago, George was a wide receiver, a former walk-on hoping to make an appearance -- even a cameo -- in the Pack's spring game. Saturday, when the annual Red-White Game is held at Carter-Finley Stadium, George will line up at cornerback, and he should see plenty of playing time.

"We took him from offense, and he's playing field corner and doing a great job for us," O'Brien said this week.

Leonard, a backup safety last season, could start at outside linebacker, albeit at 194 pounds. Bedics and Larsen, both defensive linemen, now are on the offensive line.

"It's awfully difficult to learn to play in the offensive line, but they've attacked it," O'Brien said. "They both look like, in the long run, it's going to be a good move for us."

Moving to cornerback wasn't a surprise for George, a rising redshirt junior from Havelock. During the Pack's bye week last season, he got a look at safety.

"That was a chance to experiment, to see how it would work out for this spring," George said. "I guess they liked what they saw, so they put me in there."

But not at safety.

"Koyal doesn't have a lot of weight in his pants," defensive backs coach Mike Reed said with a laugh, noting that at 5 feet 11 and 169 pounds, George was better suited for cornerback.

"It has been a big change," George said. "They just threw me to the fire out there. I'm learning it, but it will take some time."

As the field corner, George often has the responsibility of covering the receiver split wide in the offensive formation.

He said he has already received his welcome to the position.

Seems that wide receiver Donald Bowens made a move, slipped past George and scored in the Pack's last scrimmage.

"Yeah, he burned me," George said, smiling. "It was a long one. Coach got on me about it. D-Bow, my boy, got on me about it.

"I respect that. I have a lot of respect for cornerbacks. You really don't know how hard it is until you go over there and try it and play it yourself."

George played cornerback and safety at Havelock High but was more of an offensive star, averaging 24 yards a catch as a senior. Spurning some small-college offers, he walked on at N.C. State.

A scout-team player his first season, he played in three games his second season, then earned a scholarship last year in O'Brien's first season as coach. He played in every game and had three catches, including a 25-yarder for a touchdown in the win over Virginia.

Reed said George's time at wideout has helped him adapt to the new position.

"He can relate to certain things receivers do in getting open," Reed said. "As a defensive back, it's always good to have an offensive mentality.

"He's very athletic. When you have a kid with his athleticism, he can make the transition. It has been a pleasure to see him progress."

State's practices are closed, but George apparently has made such rapid progress in learning the techniques and the demands of the position that he's pushing DeAndre Morgan, last year's starter at field corner.

"Some people can go out there one time and do it [while] other guys need the repetitions," Reed said. "Koyal needs the repetitions, but he also learns well, which is a testament to how smart he is as a person and as a player."

George said he already has thought of the Pack's 2008 opener -- at South Carolina, a Thursday night game, before 80,000 at Williams-Brice Stadium.

"South Carolina, ESPN, GameDay, the whole thing," he said, shaking his head.

"Hopefully I'll be ready by then."