ATHENS – Tailback is the glory position. Fullback tends not to be.

And yet Richard Samuel, whose future could end up at either spot, would prefer it be the latter.

“It's the closest thing to linebacker for me,” said Samuel, who spent the 2010 season playing linebacker while redshirting. "I mean I don't worry about the glory position. I just want to have a little contact and have fun."

That’s not to say Samuel won’t play tailback. The first four years of his career have shown he will acquiesce to whatever the coaches ask: He spent his first two years at tailback, then shifted to linebacker for a year, then back to tailback, and was set to be a fullback before Isaiah Crowell’s dismissal from the team.

This preseason, Samuel has been getting an equal share of snaps at both spots. At this point, it seems likely that Samuel will rotate between the two spots, depending on the situation in the game and the health of players at either position.

Head coach Mark Richt sat down with Samuel recently to go over his role.

“I told him that continuing to get reps at tailback would not stop him from being a starting fullback,” Richt said. “The beauty of him playing that position is he’s in that meeting room with fullbacks and tailbacks.”

Ultimately, Samuel feels he will do fine at either spot. He also knows where he lands will depend heavily on the performance of inexperienced players at both tailback and fullback.

"During camp if coaches (like) how the other running backs start to produce or how the fullback is filling out with Quayvon (Hicks) and Zander (Ogletree)," Samuel said, his voice trailing off. "It all depends on how those guys pan out."