[Buckskin86]

15: Who will be the nickel CB?
Chris Brown, Lead Journalist
Posted Jul 10, 2009

It was a hotly contested position last summer and the situation figures to be no different later this month at St. John Fisher. On a roster blessed with cornerback depth, Buffalo?s coaching staff will have a good dilemma when it comes to deciding the player best fit for the team?s nickel corner role.

?It?s good to have depth at that position,? said defensive backs coach George Catavolos. ?Last year, we went through three.?

Ashton Youboty won the nickel corner job after a strong preseason last year, but was lost for the season after just five games due to plantar fasciitis in both feet, which required surgery.

Not feeling completely comfortable playing rookies Leodis McKelvin or Reggie Corner so early in the season, the defensive staff began putting Donte Whitner on the slot receiver in nickel packages.

Whitner would shift back and forth between safety and nickel corner until he suffered a shoulder injury and missed time as well. Enter Reggie Corner. The former fourth-round pick saw extensive playing time in the nickel role over the final quarter of the season and performed admirably.

With Youboty, Whitner, Corner and veteran free agent Drayton Florence all with time on the job, Catavolos likes that he has options.

?It?s a tough position because it?s demanding,? Catavolos said. ?There?s some line backer assignments as well as corner assignments. We have four individuals that have experience in playing that position so hopefully we can be more productive there.?

Whitner is not expected to be part of the competition for the job as his focus will be more on safety. Corner, Florence and Youboty will be the ones battling for the position, and with no true incumbent the competition will be wide open.

Youboty is still a viable candidate for the job, but his offseason work was severely limited as he participated fully in just four practices all spring. Still recovering from plantar fasciitis Youboty intends to hit the ground running come training camp.

?That?s my plan,? said Youboty. ?Once we get to camp I?ll be in shape and there are no worries about taking a step back. I?ve just got to get out there and make plays and prove I can be a starter out there. That?s my goal to be a starter, but nickel back is cool too. We?ve got a lot of decent corners, guys making plays and they?ll put the best guys out there.?

?It?s just getting back into the swing of things,? said Catavolos of Youboty. ?It will take some time in there, but again, when you?re out there on the football field playing a certain technique on defense we expect him to do well.?

?I think the coaches have the challenge,? said Youboty. ?We?ll have guys out here making plays every day. They have to make the decision who they think can do that consistently. I have no worries, just come out here and do my best and make plays. We all know at the end of the day we don?t make the decisions so we root for each other.?

15: Who will be the nickel CB?