Back at corner, Josh Holsey having 'outstanding' spring

AUBURN – Versatility can come with a price.

Josh Holsey has played everywhere in the Auburn secondary over the past three seasons, debuting as a cornerback, then shifting to safety – with cameos as the dime back, and back at corner, and "star," and cormer again.

No other defender has been moved with the frequency of Holsey, who has been "locked in" at cornerback, hopeful it's his last position for his final season.

"I really like being placed at one spot," Holsey said. "If I have to move I'm always willing to, but being at one spot I get to just work my craft each and every day."

Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has been very pleased by Holsey's "outstanding" performance through the first half of spring practice.

"He's really come on," Muschamp said. "He really runs well on the top end, plays the ball well down the field. He's having a very good spring. … He's shown outstanding coverage ability against, in my opinion, a very good corps of wide outs here."

Holsey said he's lining up across from D'haquille Williams or Ricardo Louis as much as possible this spring in order to prepare for the fall.

"I know he's going to pull the best out of me every day in practice," said Holsey, who had 41 tackles last season.

Williams got the better of the matchup during Saturday's scrimmage, making a catch against Holsey on what he said was the only ball thrown in his direction.

"If they throw his way 10 times I try to make sure he don't catch more than three," Holsey said. "I try to compete in everything."

It's in stark contrast to the Outback Bowl, when Holsey stunningly did not play for the first time all season, a decision he does not understand.

"Honestly I really don't know why I didn't play," Holsey said. "That was just the decision that was made. Can't really look back on that now. I'm just making sure that that doesn't happen again."

Muschamp, who insists he was just "helping out a little" during the game, said the thought process by the coaches was to play more physical players again the run heavy Badgers.

Throughout all of last season Holsey, who tore his ACL in Oct. 2013, felt as though the former coaching staff was unsure of his health.

"I don't feel like the coaches that was here thought that I was 100 percent," he said. "So I feel like they kind of kept me back. … If I didn't feel 100, I would've redshirted."

No longer wearing a knee brace, the Fairburn, Georgia native says he's in the best shape of his life this spring.

Fellow senior corner Jonathan Jones has traveled a similar path to Holsey, as both saw the field as true freshmen in 2012, coped with injuries in 2013 and were regular contributors last season.

After playing in the same defensive backfield the last three years, Jones said Holsey, prefers corner.

"He's comfortable there," Jones said. "That's what he came in at."

Holsey wants it to also be where he goes out playing.