Iowa's Bullock takes snaps at WR this spring

IOWA CITY -- Damon Bullock worked at first-team running back alongside Mark Weisman, but that's not the only position the junior played this spring.

Bullock said he also shifted to wide receiver frequently in spring practice, a position he also played as a freshman. He did not play wide receiver during Saturday's spring game.

"Plenty of reps (at wide receiver)," Bullock said. "Right now we haven't introduced it during the spring game or anything but when practice is (going) and no media around, I'm always around the receivers."

Bullock said he has no preference on the positions.

"Equally," he said. "I just want the ball in my hands."

Bullock (6-foot, 195) suffered from at least one concussion last year and played in just six games. He rushed for 513 yards last year. As a true freshman he ran for 20 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards in the regular season. He added a 10-yard reception in an Insight Bowl loss to Oklahoma.

Bullock is sharing time at running back among Weisman, red-shirt freshman Michael Malloy and red-shirt sophomore Jordan Canzeri this spring. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said Bullock's versatility could make him a weapon at either position.

"We haven't really worked Damon much in the passing game this spring," Ferentz said. "I've kind of kept him in the backfield and wanted to get the other guys as much work as possible. But certainly that's something we may realistically utilize more of. He's proven he's a guy that can help us move the football and make some plays for us. We could never have too many of those types of guys, hopefully we can utilize him in a smart way next year."

Bullock switched numbers in the offseason from the traditional running back number of 32 to 5. It had nothing to do with his position, he said.

"I didn't like it," Bullock said. "It just felt too big for me and everything. I just wanted something closer to my high school number. My high school number was 4."