In baseball, they're called utility players, guys that bounce around from position to position, filling in one spot one year and another the next.

For the TCU football team, that guy's called Antonio Graves.

A quarterback in high school, the redshirt sophomore played safety in 2010, wide receiver and special teams last fall and switched to linebacker a couple of weeks before spring practice began last month.

The Texarkana native’s journey might have come full circle Tuesday.

TCU head coach Gary Patterson said Graves worked out at strong safety during the Horned Frogs' spring practice Tuesday afternoon, returning to the position he moved from after his true freshman season.

Patterson said he liked what he saw out of Graves, who worked with the backups Tuesday.

“He had three or four really good plays,” Patterson said. “He did play well, especially when he was blitzing. Right now, we’re trying to find 11 good players.”

Graves moved to linebacker this spring after bulking up to 230 pounds in the offseason. 

“There’s not much need for a 230 pound receiver at 6-foot-1,” Patterson said. “So, you got to find a place.”

According to Patterson, Graves’ switch Tuesday paid off for the defense. Patterson said he felt like the secondary wasn’t putting enough pressure on the offense. Graves was able to do just that, something he’s proved since moving to linebacker.

“When he was playing linebacker for us, the two things he did really well was coverage and blitzing,” Patterson said. “Those are the things strong safeties do. We didn’t feel like we were getting the blitz we needed to and today we got one. He ran by the tackles a couple times.”

As for why the move was made, Patterson said it was a matter of finding playmakers in what is a fairly young defensive backfield, even if that means bumping some guys around.

“We haven’t been making plays,” Patterson said “It’s not the YMCA. Not everybody gets a chance to play. It’s about winning.”