The Dallas Cowboys' decision to draft cornerback Morris Claiborne last week should go a long way in improving the poor pass defense they've endured the past two seasons.
But Claiborne could potentially help in more areas than just covering wide receivers.
The player the Cowboys openly admitted was the top defensive player on their draft board could also be used to return kicks, as he did at Louisiana State. In fact, Claiborne is so eager to contribute that he revealed during an interview with a Dallas radio station that he wouldn't mind lining up for a few snaps at wide receiver.
"I would love to be a two-way player," Claiborne told KESN (103.3-FM). "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 had a similar response when the prospect of returning kicks arose.
"Hopefully that'll be one of the things they'll let me do," Claiborne said. "I think an important part of my game is returning kicks, and hopefully they will let me get back there and return a couple whether it's punts or kickoffs."
Last season, the 5-foot-11, 188-pounder returned 22 kickoffs for 552 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown return in a victory over West Virginia.
When the Shreveport, La., native first landed in Baton Rouge, he had no idea he'd be returning kickoffs or even playing cornerback. Claiborne was a standout wide receiver in high school but switched positions after taking some advice from former LSU teammate Patrick Peterson, a cornerback who was drafted fifth overall last year by the Arizona Cardinals.
During the radio interview, Claiborne explained how the transition was made.
"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 heac 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."
Though it's unlikely he'll catch a few balls from Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, it's not impossible. Remember, Deion Sanders, the player to whom many have compared Claiborne, lined up on offense for the Cowboys. And with the Cowboys having lost Laurent Robinson through free agency, Dez Bryant and Miles Austin are the only proven wideouts on the current roster.
--
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
