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Two days after he got most of his reps at safety, Micah Hannemann was back playing cornerback during BYU's morning practice on Thursday.

The sophomore from Lone Peak High was just happy to be back on the field after a medical scare kept him on the sidelines the entire first full week of preseason camp.

Hannemann said the ordeal began when he tweaked his knee a few days before camp began on Aug. 8. He went in for an MRI, and doctors found more things to be concerned about.

Specifically, one examiner thought that Hannemann might have cancer. So they sent him to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City for more tests, and thankfully he was cleared.

"So I am good to go," he said.

Hannemann didn't want to know what kind of cancer he was tested for, but allowed, "it was a little bit scary … They were just trying to be extra-safe to make sure there was nothing there."

He said he's the type of person who doesn't want to deal with a problem if there's really not a problem.

"Tell me if I do [have a problem], but don't tell me if I don't," he said. "So it was kind of one of those deals."

Now he's playing catch-up.

"I was kinda disappointed that I didn't get to start the first week, because I feel like I had a pretty decent spring ball," he said. "Then I had to work my way back, and am still working my way back, into the position."

The Cougars are cross-training several of their defensive backs to play both safety and cornerback, which is why Hannemann played safety on Tuesday during the media-viewing portion of practice.

"I love it," he said Thursday. "I love being able to play anywhere. Because when you play safety you learn the defense way better than when you play corner. And the same with corner — you learn that side of the defense. So I am just learning to be versatile."

In the running for one of the two starting cornerback spots coming out of spring camp, Hannemann said he's more comfortable at cornerback because he's been playing there longer.

"But physically I feel like I am more of a safety, just because of my footwork and my size and stuff like that. So, yeah, I just need to get the mental part down at safety," he said.

Check back later Thursday night for a full practice report from Thursday's media-viewing session of the workout.