Greg Smith is not part of some April Fool's joke. Far from it.

The guy who caught more passes for more yards than any other Georgia Tech player last season really did move to the backfield this spring. That was him running the ball four times on pitch plays in Tech's first scrimmage on Saturday.

He's at A-back, or slot back, a position that mixes a lot of running back duties with some of the receiver tasks Smith already knows. He can still go deep, as he did for a beautiful catch in Friday's practice, but he has more ways to get his hands on the ball than he would if he had stayed at receiver.

"You get to make big plays in it, so I like it," said Smith, who will be a junior this fall. "I like the running back part. I like to have the ball in my hands. It's a good challenge, and I accept the challenge."

He has a lot to learn. He has been working with the second team, behind former running backs Jamaal Evans and Roddy Jones. But Smith sees potential for him at the position, and so do Tech's coaches. Was it Tech coach Paul Johnson's idea for him to try A-back, or was it his?

"It was a little bit of both. I wanted to play the position, and Coach, after workouts, thought I could play the position, so he gave me the chance," Smith said.

"Greg's got good speed. He's good with the ball in his hands," Johnson said. "We've got to teach him to be a complete player and block and do those kind of things, but he's got a lot of ability."

Picking up the running skills he needs is just a small part of Smith's transition, A-backs coach Jeff Monken said.

There's a new stance, a new way of going into motion and, most challenging of all, a different style of blocking. As a receiver, Smith had much simpler blocking responsibilities. As an A-back, he has to count defensive players and select the right one to hit.

"If he'll block, and he's effective at it, he'll have an opportunity," Monken said.

At 6 feet 3, 195 pounds, Smith is considerably taller than Evans (5-8) or Jones (5-9). But the little guys aren't necessarily at a disadvantage. Last season, when Johnson and Monken coached at Navy, the starting A-backs were 5-6, 168 pounds and 5-8, 164. Those players also led Navy in receiving, though their 25 combined catches for 505 yards were significantly below the 37 catches for 588 yards Smith had for Tech.

Monken likes the toughness of Jamaal Evans and Tyler Evans, whose biggest contributions in the past have been at punt returner. (Tyler Evans dislocated a shoulder in Saturday's scrimmage.) Former receiver Andrew Smith, another punt returner, also is working at A-back after missing the first week of spring practice because of illness.

The position is new for all of the players, and they're doing things they had never been asked to do.

"You've got to be very skilled to play this position and very tough," Jamaal Evans said. "I feel like I know a little bit of it, but I still have to think about it. When we break the huddle, I've got to think, Do I block No. 3? Do I block No. 2?"

Greg Smith is dealing with the same concerns, but he sounded confident about his ability to make the transition.

"It's still football, just make plays and you'll be all right," he said."