[Tuck4Bama]

Bring up Rudy Burgess’ cornerback experiment last year for Arizona State, and most Sun Devil fans would likely cringe.

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Not because his move to defense was a failure, but because it was brief. In his second start, Burgess sprained an ankle at Washington in October and was lost until a brief appearance in the Hawaii Bowl.

But before one assumes that nothing good came from the cornerback stint, Burgess would submit his play at slotback this season. Some of his success, he said, is due to the knowledge of defense he gained while on that side of the ball.

“My experience at cornerback has given me a lot of familiarity with schemes on defense,” Burgess said. “I can look at a coverage, and they might try to disguise it, but I know that they are going to switch to something else. I can anticipate, run better routes and get open easier.”

The senior did not have a catch last week at Washington State but is tied for second on the team in receiving, despite missing one game. In fact, Burgess and Kyle Williams, the first-team slotback, have nearly identical numbers.

ASU Football notebook: Burgess learned on job at CB