By Brad Biggs, National Football Post
Morris Claiborne has big plans to help the Dallas Cowboys.
The LSU cornerback should go a long way toward shoring up issues in the secondary. He could return some kicks too, something wide receiver Dez Bryant has been dabbling with since he was a first-round draft pick in 2010.
And Claiborne wouldn’t mind lining up at wide receiver alongside Bryant.
“I would love to be a two-way player,” Claiborne said on KESN-FM, according to the Dallas Morning News. “If they gave me that chance and opportunity to go both sides of the ball I’d love it. I won’t turn it down. I’d get in and give it 100 percent.”
Claiborne was an elite wide receiver in high school, so he has played the position before. Former LSU teammate Patrick Peterson recommended he make the switch to cornerback. Peterson was the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft by the Arizona Cardinals.
“Well when I first came in and stepped foot on campus it was one of my visits,” Claiborne said. “Patrick was my host, so he kept on telling me, ‘Man you need to move to corner.’ I’m like, ‘No man, I’m a receiver. I want to make plays with the ball. I want the ball in my hands.’ When I got to camp, the coaches wanted me to do … a day at corner, a day at receiver, a day at corner, a day at receiver.
"I ended up liking corner, so I stayed over in the cornerback room or whatever. (LSU coach Les) Miles came and got me and said, ‘You don’t have a position yet. Just roll with us and let us figure this thing out.’ But after I kept making plays at corner, he decided to go ahead and let me stay over there, so that’s how it happened.”
If Claiborne has his way, he’ll get to polish up some of his skills as a wide receiver. Once upon a time, there was a cornerback for the Cowboys that did some occasional work on offense. Deion Sanders was a fine performer. Stay tuned.
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune