Brandon Williams' Move to CB/RB Hybrid Player Is Great News for Texas A&M

Spring practice is in the books, which means it's time for some roster shuffling across the country.

Some players will move on to other schools while others will simply line up in a different spot during summer workouts.

Texas A&M running back Brandon Williams will do the latter, according to Billy Liucci of TexAgs.com.

Is Williams' move to corner, albeit on a part-time basis, a shock? Yep.

The former 5-star prospect transferred to Texas A&M from Oklahoma prior to the 2012 season and has rushed for 648 yards and four touchdowns over the last two seasons. He was scheduled to contend with Tra Carson and James White for playing time this offseason.

"Brandon is an explosive athlete with great speed and quickness," Gabe Bock of TexAgs Radio told Bleacher Report. "He obviously has never played corner at the collegiate level, so stepping right in and doing so in the SEC will be a tall task."

He'll still contend for carries while cross-training at cornerback, which is what makes this move a good one for the Aggies.

Head coach Kevin Sumlin and sophomore Kyle Allen wrapped up spring practice last month with new confidence in the running game, which is being led by first-year run game coordinator Dave Christensen.

Williams' move to defense on a part-time basis isn't an indication that he's expendable; it's that the running game is stable. Texas A&M got way too pass-happy last year, throwing 514 times while attempting just 421 rushing plays.

With Christensen on board and Williams on the move, it would appear that Texas A&M has a clear direction in its running game for the first time since quarterback Johnny Manziel was taking the snaps. 

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Is Williams' move also a sign that the Aggies are dangerously thin and need some help at cornerback? 

Of course it is, but that's not exactly breaking news. Unless your name is Lloyd Christmas and you're finding out that "we've landed on the moon" in Dumb & Dumber, you probably already know that Texas A&M's secondary has been abysmal over the last few seasons.

The Aggies have finished no better than 12th in the 14-team SEC since joining the conference prior to the 2012 season and gave up a whopping 44 pass plays of 20 or more yards in 2014—second-most in the conference. What's more, new defensive coordinator John Chavis has to replace starting corner Deshazor Everett, who signed a free-agent contract with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to Aaron Wilson of National Football Post.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

De'Vante Harris is back for his senior season, and there are other talented players vying for playing time, but there's nothing stable in the defensive backfield in College Station.

Why not give it a shot?

"Pairing a supreme athlete with John Chavis might just work while also allowing him the chance to continue seeing time at running back," Bock said. "It's worth a shot at a position of need for A&M."

Williams, a 6'0", 200-pounder, won weight room offseason MVP honors during his transfer year of 2012, and that clearly wasn't due to boredom as you see from the tweet below.

While it is uncommon for upperclassmen to make the move to the other side of the ball, it does happen. Just last year, Auburn wide receiver and former super-recruit Trovon Reed moved to corner after he got buried on the offensive depth chart. While he wasn't a star at corner, he was a key contributor, picked off three passes and signed a free-agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks, according to Stephen Cohen of SeattlePI.com.

Reed earned a shot by making the move, and that's all players want.

In 2012, Georgia's depth issues in the secondary sent then-sophomore Malcolm Mitchell to cornerback for the first four games of the season. All he did was notch 12 tackles and three pass breakups before moving back to offense and catching 40 passes.

Williams hopes to follow a similar path.

Even if he doesn't, the move indicates that one of Texas A&M's offseason questions—its running game—is close to being answered. 

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.