Which position or positions will ex-Hawkeye Matt Kroul play tonight for the New York Jets?

The last time I saw Matt Kroul was a few Saturdays ago. He was working at his family's produce stand at the farmers' market in downtown Cedar Rapids. At that time, he was a defensive tackle. He had been one since his college days at Iowa. He had been one since his high school days at Mount Vernon.

But tonight, when the Jets face Houston in the NFL preseason opener for both teams, Kroul could be on defense, offense, or both.

Earlier this month, the Jets decided to make Kroul a hybrid offensive lineman/defensive lineman. This story by Conor Orr of the Newark Star-Ledger elaborates. An excerpt:

If that allows me to make the 53 (man roster), I said, ‘Yeah, let's do the thing,'” Kroul said.

Kroul spent Saturday (Aug. 6) - the team's off day - learning the terminology used on the offensive side of the ball. By Sunday, his number changed from 98 to 66. His practice jersey switched from defensive green to offensive white. He worked out on the opposite end of the field from his former defensive colleagues.

“It was a different experience, obviously,” Kroul said. “Eight years of my life I've been playing defensive line. It's a change, but you just take it in stride and learn as fast as you can, get thrown in there and do the best you can.”

Kroul wouldn't be the first ex-Hawkeye to move from defensive line to offensive line in the NFL. There was Mark Bortz of the 1985 world champion Chicago Bears, of course. He was an eighth-round draft pick who went on to play in two Pro Bowls.

More recently, there is Bryan Mattison of the Baltimore Ravens. He came to the NFL as a defensive lineman. He started 37 games for Iowa, and recorded 25.5 quarterback sacks. But he has switched to center, as this Baltimore Sun blog details. A passage:

“I don't know if you're ever comfortable playing center,” he said. “If there is a comfort level to playing center, then I've got a long way to go. I've got a lot to learn. But like I said earlier, with our coaches and our guys on the line, hopefully, I can learn it pretty quick.” ...

“I played it on scout team (last year) when I was on the practice squad,” he said. “So I was going against [two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle] Haloti [Ngata] every day and [12-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker] Ray [Lewis] and Sizz [four-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs] and Double-J [outside linebacker Jarret Johnson]."

Mattison shifted from defensive end to offensive guard with the Ravens in 2009. He broke into the NFL in 2008 with the Jets, but has played in just two regular-season games.

He filled in as the starting center last Thursday when Baltimore lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, because starting center Matt Birk is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery.

Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun wrote this about Mattison's play in the Ravens' 13-6 loss:

Bryan Mattison, filling in at center for the injured Matt Birk, did a nice job of cutting off the inside linebackers on running plays, but couldn't keep his feet in pass protection.

The Ravens should consider signing Casey Rabach, who failed a physical earlier in camp, as the backup center once his shoulder heals in about another week.

Another Baltimore offfensive lineman is Marshal Yanda, who has missed the Ravens' last two practices because of back spasms.

Yanda, an Anamosa native, signed a five-year, $32 million contract last month.

"He told us he wanted to be a Raven and he understood the business part that he had to go through," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said upon the news Yanda eschewed free agency to stay with Baltimore. "I'm beaming."