EAST LANSING, Mich. -- When Michigan State was hurting for cornerbacks late last season, coach Mark Dantonio turned to Tony Lippett.
The Spartans' leading receiver responded emphatically on the field, and by doing so, he gave NFL scouts much more to consider in assessing his talents.
Lippett played both ways in Michigan State's final three games, becoming the first Spartan to start on offense and defense in the same game since 1968. He registered four tackles and broke up four passes on defense and made 14 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns in those games.
"Some [teams] really like him at receiver. Some really like him at corner," Michigan State secondary coach Harlon Barnett said. "So it's a matter of preference and what team takes him. One thing you do know with him is whatever team gets him will get a dual guy."
Lippett, who compiled 65 receptions for 1,198 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, felt comfortable enough as a cornerback to work out on both sides of the ball at the Spartans' pro day last month.
It helped that Lippett had started five games at cornerback as a redshirt freshman in 2011. He moved to offense for his final three seasons and was on his way toward earning Big Ten's Receiver of the Year honors as a senior when coaches tapped him to play both sides of the ball.
It remains to be seen whether Lippett can continue playing both positions in the NFL, or if he might be a better pro prospect as a cornerback.
"It's done a little bit just to showcase that I'm a team player, showcase that I can play wide receiver and then flip over and check a wide receiver and tackle on defense," Lippett said.
Barnett said he saw Lippett's instincts as a corner reappear last season. Having to play both positions, sometimes in the same game, might be an advantage since he understands the nuances of each role.
"He's smart enough to say, 'OK, how am I going to get the edge on this guy?'" Barnett said. "He lined up there, and he's probably about to run this route right here. ... Who he's going against, what type of release he likes to run, those types of things."
The instincts are there. So are the measurables -- Lippett is 6-foot-2½, 192 pounds with 32¾-inch arms and 9⅞-inch hands.
While Barnett is biased, he believes Lippett could be a better corner than receiver, especially as NFL teams look for bigger, stronger corners to match up with the larger receivers trending in the league.
Lippett wouldn't be the first to make this transition. The attention and interest in Lippett as a potential corner might come in part because of a former Stanford receiver who moved to defense as a senior and was overlooked until the fifth round of the 2010 draft.
His name? Richard Sherman, arguably the NFL's best cornerback.
That's not imply Lippett is the next Sherman. But Lippett has the confidence that he will succeed at wherever a team wants to use him. It's why he has worked at both receiver and corner drills throughout his pre-draft process.
"I know a lot more wide receiver. I know corner," Lippett said. "It's just a good time for me to embrace corner as well. I can learn on that side of it, too, and probably be one of the dominant ones on each side of the ball.
"That's just my goal. I just try to embrace it all."