By Mike Babcock
For The Independent

"We have some things in mind," he said.

Even then, any changes would depend on the player, he said. "We'll recommend that somebody move. We're never going to make anybody move.

"Their heart isn't in it and it's not good for anybody on the team. If we feel that somebody, it's in their best interests and the team's best interest, we might present it to them. But at the end of the day, it has to be their decision."

By all indications, Pelini didn't have in mind Cody Glenn's moving from I-back to linebacker that day in late March. The idea was Glenn's, though "I wouldn't say he was surprised," Glenn said after practice on Wednesday.

"It's kind of something that people talked about when he first got here, so, I mean, I don't know if he knew I was actually going to consider doing it. But once I did say something to him, I don't think he was that surprised."

Glenn said something to Pelini on Saturday. He discussed the move with his high school coach in Rusk, Texas, on Monday. He attended the linebackers meeting on Tuesday. And he practiced with the linebackers on Wednesday.

He didn't get a lot of repetitions during his first practice, and "I'm just doing a lot of thinking right now, so I'm not able to do much, really," he said.

The 6-foot, 230-pound Glenn hasn't played defense since high school, of course. And he played mostly safety then, although he moved around some.

He was recruited as a running back, and was good enough to play without redshirting. He was primarily a short-yardage back as a freshman.

He was part of a running back committee as a sophomore, playing in eight games and scoring eight of his 14 career touchdowns. But he suffered a foot injury against Texas A&M and never got much of an opportunity after that.

Last season, he played in only five games, a frustrating experience aggravated by what he described on the first day of spring practice as lack of communication and trust between him and Randy Jordan, the former running backs coach.

Glenn is healthy now, and he was practicing well at running back. "Once we got out there, I was running really good, doing a lot of good things," he said.

"So I was kind of like, 'Man, do I really want to do it?'"

The decision wasn't spur-of-the-moment. He was considering a switch to linebacker before spring practice began. In fact, he started thinking about it after Pelini was named coach because of "the reputation of his defenses," Glenn said.

"I brought it to his attention when he first got here. Then I just kind of joked with him at first. I know everything on offense, so I'd just give it a try. I won't miss any of the offense, so I'll see what I can do over here (on defense). If it turns out good, I'll stay, help the team out. And if not, I'll probably go back to running back."

He'll make that decision by the end of spring, he said.

Defense requires a different mindset. "On offense, with my running style, I hit people sometimes, too, but I also can juke 'em, run around them. But defense, every play you're hitting somebody, a lineman, a wide receiver," said Glenn. "It's more physical, but it's something I'm used to. It's something that doesn't bother me at all."

The Cornhuskers' lack of experience at linebacker also was a factor in his decision. Junior Phillip Dillard is the only linebacker with significant playing time.

"That's something I thought about before make the switch," Glenn said.

Defensive players wear red jerseys in practice during the spring, while offensive players wear white. Wearing a red jersey, without a No. 34 on it, was "really different," he said. "I looked in the mirror. It looked a little weird."

But he'll get used to it over the next two weeks, he said.

"I really like Cody because he's the kind of guy that will do anything to help the football team," Pelini said during the pre-spring news conference.

"He's really a team guy, has a great attitude."

Glenn thinks he might be able to help the team more as a linebacker. The decision to switch positions was his not the coaches' so his heart is definitely in it.

"It comes down to me helping the team out and wanting to win," he said. "I can't say we've won a lot of games since I've been here. This is my senior year, so basically, I want to win. Whatever it takes, that's what I'm going to do."