Inevitably, when Cam Gordon made a big special-teams hit or laid a crushing block on the scout team last year, Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson was there saying, “Ooh, you’d make a hell of a safety.”

Michigan's Cam Gordon, right, shows a group of youngsters where he wants them to pass him the ball (over his shoulder) as they learned a little bit about quarterbacking during Saturday, February 13th's "U-Meet the Athlete" sports clinic held at the UM Intramural Sports Building.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

This offseason, every time Gordon showed up for a weight-room workout or extra receiving practice, he’d bump into Robinson, strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis or new safeties coach Adam Braithwaite.

“The coaches would always be like, ‘Come to the dark side, come to the dark side,” Gordon said.

A few weeks ago, he did.

After playing receiver during his redshirt year, Gordon told coaches last month he was open to switching positions. He’ll play safety this spring, and at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds already is one of Michigan’s most physically imposing defensive backs.

“I just wanted to help the team,” Gordon said last week at a charity function for Michigan’s intramural sports programs. “That was my whole outlook on it. However possibly way I could help the team, that’s what I was doing, so if free safety was the position than that’s the position for me.”

Gordon started at both receiver and safety at Inkster High School as a senior - he played linebacker as a junior at Melvindale - and had five interceptions.

He said he’s not sure if he’ll play any offense this spring, but with a chance to contribute in Michigan’s thin secondary he’s spending most of his time learning the defense and getting reacquainted with defensive back.

“It’s all about getting prepared,” Gordon said. “I can’t say this is going to happen. Nothing’s guaranteed, but we’ll see how spring ball goes.”

Still, Gordon sounds like he’s ready to call his new position home.

He came to Michigan with designs on being a big-play receiver and maybe catching touchdown passes from Devin Gardner, his former quarterback at Inkster. Now, Gordon said he can't wait to intercept Gardner.

“All of them will get it,” Gordon said. “Tate (Forcier), Gardner, Denard (Robinson), all of them. I’m picking all of them off. They already know. Seven-on-seven, I’m like, ‘Don’t throw it to me.’ I say no over the top balls. Never. They know that.”

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.