The move was made following Alabama's first spring scrimmage in April, one during which Deionte Thompson intercepted two passes at safety.

With the Tide lacking depth at wide receiver, Thompson was asked by coach Nick Saban whether he would be open to changing positions.

Thompson later agreed after being told by coaches that he had a chance to see immediate playing at receiver while he would likely redshirt as a freshman at safety.

"He was a little bit surprised because had two interceptions in one day in a live scrimmage, and then the next day they brought him in and moved him to receiver," Thompson's high school coach at West Orange-Stark in Texas, Cornel Thompson, said during a phone interview. "But he's an athlete. He's a team player. He's going to do what they ask him to do ... and he's a kid that wants to play."

While surprised at first by the move, Thompson received positive feedback from Saban following the spring and has progressed to the point that he feels he could see playing time at receiver this season, his father, Vester Thompson, said.

Deionte Thompson met with Saban in the coach's office following the conclusion of the spring.

Saban "basically told him how well he thought he did with the move," Vester Thompson said, "and that was one of the reasons that he kept him on that side of the ball."

Robert Foster, Chris Black and ArDarius Stewart worked with the first-team offense at wide receiver throughout the spring, and Alabama recently added Oregon State graduate transfer wide receiver Richard Mullaney. However, the Tide's depth chart at receiver is unsettled beyond those four.

Prized freshman Calvin Ridley, redshirt freshman Derek Kief and Thompson will be part of a group of young and/or inexperienced players competing for playing time.

A long-armed former high school high jump standout, the 6-foot-2 Thompson caught 37 passes for 692 yards and four touchdowns as a senior at West Orange-Stark in addition to intercepting five passes on defense.

Prior to moving to wide receiver, Thompson posted the fastest 40-yard dash time among safeties during the Tide's spring testing (4.65), according to a source.

"He uses his body like a rebounder, and one of the things I think that he does well with that is that he high-points the ball better than anyone I've seen," Vester Thompson said of his son, whom Rivals ranked as a high-end four-star safety recruit and the third-best safety in this year's recruiting class. "He was a high jump champion his freshman year, sophomore year and his junior year, so I think the way he goes up and gets the ball is probably one of the things they looked at and said, hey, we can use this."

Thompson has told his father he has been spending a lot of time with Alabama receivers coach Billy Napier, which he told his father has helped him build a better understanding of the Tide's playbook and his responsibilities.

Thompson has also put on around 20 pounds since first arriving at Alabama in January, up to 193 pounds from around 177.

"As far as his body, he's put on some nice, nice weight," Vester Thompson said, laughing. "He told me he's going to have to learn how to run with that weight on, and I said, 'Yeah. It's a whole different ballgame from 177."

Cornel Thompson said he expects Alabama to re-evaluate Thompson's position following the season.

"I think they'll re-evaluate depending on their needs and who they bring in in their recruiting," Cornel Thompson said. "I think that's what it will depend on, but I think that he may eventually end up back in the secondary."