DURHAM -- Dontra Peters, a running back the last three seasons, will be doing double duty for the University of New Hampshire football team this fall.

Perhaps, it's more like, triple duty.

Head coach Sean McDonnell said on Saturday at the team's Media Day that Peters, the team's leading rusher the past two seasons, has spent the early days of preseason camp practicing on the defensive side of the ball.

The plan is to have Peters play cornerback and running back as well as spend more time on special teams.

“I don't know what the percentages are going to be,” McDonnell said. “I don't know how much on defense he'll play, how much on offense.”

The idea is to get Peters on the field more, at assorted positions.

“Last year, he was playing probably between 25 and 35 plays a game and there were other guys on the field who were playing over 50 plays and aren't as good a football player as him. Special teams, defense, we've got to figure it out.”

Peters, listed at 5-foot-11 and 197 pounds, spent his first fall at UNH as a defensive back and redshirted in 2008.

McDonnell and his coaches assessed their roster after that season and decided they could make better use of Peters on offense.

Peters rushed for just over 1,300 yards total the last two seasons and scored seven rushing touchdowns each year. He ranked third in the Colonial Athletic Association with an average of 24.6 yards a kickoff return last season and was second in all-purpose yards at 139.4.

He's looking forward to being even more all-purpose this fall.

“I'm excited about it,” Peters said with a smile. “It's a different feeling. I get to actually hit people and not be the one getting hit all the time. I get to release some anger they've put on me in the three years they've been hitting me all the time. It's payback, you know.”

McDonnell said Peters will focus on defense early in camp as he gets up to speed and then likely alternate between practicing on offense and defense.

He likes what Peters brings to both offense and defense.

“He's athletic,” he said. “He's got a great nose for the football. He's thick. He's a big corner. He's a good-sized kid and he can tackle very well.”

Sophomore Nico Steriti missed spring football with an injury and a couple of running backs had assorted bruises so Peters stayed with the offense then.

The team's depth at running back with Steriti and junior Chris Setian and the emergence of sophomore Jimmy Owens during the spring, helped make McDonnell more comfortable in having Peters go both ways.

Peters figures the move can't hurt him down the road either, if he tries to give professional football a shot.

“I appreciate it,” he said. “I feel it's an opportunity for me. At the next level, I could be used in multiple ways and they've got me on special teams as well. I take it as a positive, I like running the ball, of course, but I think it will be a good opportunity for me.”

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The Wildcats held their first practice on Friday afternoon and practiced again on Saturday morning. Their first day of full contact is scheduled for Tuesday and the first day of double sessions is Wednesday.

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UNH opens its season with a pair of road games. The Wildcats are at Holy Cross of the Patriot League on Thursday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m. and at Minnesota for their Football Bowl Subdivision game on Sept. 8 at noon.

They play their first home game the next week, Sept. 15, against Central Connecticut State.

UNH needed a 60-yard pass play from Kevin Decker to Justin Mello with 1 minute and 10 seconds left in the game to beat Holy Cross, 39-32, in Durham last season.

“They're a very, very good football team,” said senior lineman and captain Chris Zarkoskie. “It came down to the wire last year and I'm sure it will come down to the wire again this year. Defensively, they present a bunch of different fronts and offensively they can score points, too.”

Holy Cross finished with a 6-5 record last season.

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Allen Lessels covers UNH football for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. He may be reached at alessels@unionleader.com.