KNOXVILLE - A faction of the Tennessee football fan base spent spent Tyler Byrd's first two seasons with the Volunteers yearning to see him play defense.
Even Byrd made clear he believed he could contribute in the secondary under then-head coach Butch Jones, who suggested in 2016 that Byrd's future could include some defense, even as he appeared to be thriving as a freshman receiver.
Tennessee wide receiver Tyler Byrd dances on the field before an NCAA football game against Southern Mississippi at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, in Knoxville, Tenn.After Byrd rarely played in 2017, the long-awaited position change finally came when new head coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff opted to put Byrd at cornerback to begin spring workouts last month. After a few practices, Byrd was spotted at safety during portions of practices open to media, and by Tuesday, Byrd was back at receiver for Tennessee's 10th of 15 spring practices.
That Byrd has yet to cement a role with the new staff is the latest oddity in a career that started with promise when Byrd caught 15 passes for 209 yards, rushed eight times for 63 yards and averaged 26.3 yards on 10 kick returns two years ago - only to have his role essentially vanish as a sophomore even with Tennessee in dire need of quality receivers.
Pruitt avoided mentioning Byrd by name when asked about him and other players who worked at new positions on Tuesday. But the fact that Byrd does not yet have a permanent home is apparently due in part to the staff's desire to experiment with the idea of developing some two-way players.
"I go back to my high school background," Pruitt said. "Sometimes you had to play guys on both sides of the ball. When it comes down to the last two minutes, I'd like to have the best players on the field. If we lose two or three guys at a certain position, and we need to make some moves to figure out the best way and maybe have to change who we are, then we want to be able to do that."
Freshman athlete Alontae Taylor moved to cornerback from receiver for Tuesday's practice, and Pruitt made clear it's not a permanent switch. Others, such as defensive linemen Matthew Butler, Eric Crosby and Greg Emerson, were moved to offensive line the same day to provide what could just be temporary depth.
The rationale behind Byrd's switch remains less clear because Pruitt avoided addressing it.
Other players on the move Tuesday: Princeton Fant going from running back to inside linebacker after redshirting as a wide receiver in 2017, and tight end Latrell Bumphus moving from tight end to defensive line.
"There may be a point sometimes in the season, we had it this past year, you lose five guys at one position," Pruitt said. "We still play on Saturdays, so we have to find a way. So, if you're going to do that type of stuff, right now is the time to do it.
"We don't want October or November to be the first time they've ever done it."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.