Even with true freshman Bryce Hall on the depth chart at CB, the Hoos are far from loaded there. And yet, Kirk Garner, listed at CB, spent much of training camp working at safety. (Although we note that Juan Thornhill, listed at FS, is starting at CB.)
The cross training may have merit, especially for a team without much depth in the defensive backfield. Having a couple of guys who can swap back and forth allows Bronco Mendenhall to be more flexible with his defense. Garner may be the best pure cover guy on the team, and playing him at safety may help shut down the opposition’s top receiving RBs and/or TEs.