The SMU coaches dabbled during spring workouts with using defensive end Beau Barnes as a pass-rushing linebacker (photo by SMU athletics).

One of the stranger sights during the latter part of the SMU football team’s 2014 spring workouts was the sight of Beau Barnes playing linebacker.

Barnes was the Mustangs’ starting left defensive end last year, finishing eighth on the team with 45 tackles and second on the team with five sacks, trailing only the six collected by linebacker Jonathan Yenga.

But if he can make the adjustment to linebacker, Barnes would give SMU defensive coordinator a lot of options and flexibility. The Mustangs are three- or four-deep at defensive end, and have several players who have shown they have at least the potential to step into the role Barnes occupied last year. Meanwhile, the idea of dropping Barnes to linebacker is not as far-fetched as it might initially appear to be. Barnes is one of the fastest — if not the fastest — defensive ends on the roster, and is a fluid athlete who did not look out of place dropping into pass coverage during drills.

“I’m getting used to the idea of playing in coverage, and I’ve only been at it a week,” Barnes said. “I definitely feel more comfortable now than I did the first day, but I know I have work to do in order to do it right. We have some really good receivers here, though, and I know if I can stay with someone like Darius Joseph, I’ve got a chance.”

The linebacker position is not entirely new to Barnes, who played it a little at Friendswood High School, but it would represent a significant change, which is why Barnes is quick to point out that no final decision has been made.

“Maybe,” he said when asked if the move will actually be made when the team reconvenes in August. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s flattering that they think enough of me to try it, but at this point, that’s all it is — we were trying it.”

If he is asked to drop back to linebacker, either on a full-time or part-time basis, Barnes said he’s up for the challenge.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can to help this team win. If that means playing some at linebacker, I’ll do my best to learn it.”

If he does play some linebacker in the fall, chances are it will be on a part-time basis, with him flipping back and forth between linebacker and defensive end, with much of his job centering around rushing the passer. After all, he did that effectively in 2013, and dropping back to linebacker would allow him almost to get a running start, as he begins each play in a stand-up position. That part of the job should not be too much of a challenge for Barnes. The pass coverage, on the other hand, is a skill he will have to fine-tune, and often is the focus of conversations when he seeks advice from current linebackers like Stephon Sanders or Jonathan Yenga.

“I think I’m fast enough to play in coverage, but I have a lot of work to do — I know that,” Barnes said. “I ask all those guys a lot of questions, and they are really helpful. They don’t mind telling me when I do something wrong, but they also tell me when I’m doing something right, or they’ll me, ‘you should have done it this way or that way.’”

Barnes said the possibility of switching positions does not mean a major change in his offseason training regimen, which he said will focus on improving his speed and quickness.

“I always work on my speed,” he said. “No matter which position I play, I need to get as fast as I can. So that won’t change. More than anything, I need to work on covering guys, and if (the coaches) decide they want me to play (linebacker) next year, I’ll be ready.”

Barnes said he honestly has no preference, aside from the acknowledgement that he wants to be on the field and he wants to help the Ponies win.

“I enjoy defensive end,” he said. “That’s the position where I got on the field. But we have a lot of young guys who can really play (defensive end) and are some great athletes. Maybe that’s part of it. Maybe our depth was part of the reason we’re trying this.

“It really doesn’t matter to me. If it helps, I’m happy to do it.”