When did New England turn into the Pacific Northwest? It's been raining for two months solid. News and notes from Tuesday's practice session.

• Kijuan Dabney and Andrew Opoku arrived at the morning meetings to find they would be switching positions. Dabney is back at safety, Opoku moves up to outside linebacker. The moves were made after a thorough review, Randy Edsall said. "Safety is a better fit for Kijuan, and Andrew is better served as an outside linebacker," Edsall said. "We watched a lot of film from earlier practices, we watched the personnel as a staff. I don't see any other moves coming."

• Dabney doesn't mind the move at all, and understands the coaches simply want the best players at the best spots. He thrives on knowing the ins and outs of as many positions as possible. “Being a guy that plays multiple positions, you can give pointers to the other guys," Dabney said. "I even take time to learn the D-Line stunts and I learn the inside backers and what the corners are doing. The more you understand the defense the more plays you can make because you know whose doing what instead of just what you can do yourself. When guys go to the NFL, they come back and tell us the scouts are impressed how much they know about football because our coaches coach us up real good. It’s definitely good to know as much as you can to be as valuable to your team as you can."

• Chris Lopes, who was moved from cornerback to safety last week, was hit by defensive teammate Markeith Cirinna late in practice today and remained down. Lopes was helped off the field, but was limping under his own power later on the sideline.

• Lawrence Wilson was barred from practice today and Thursday by Edsall. "He needs to take care of his academics," Edsall said.

• Kendall Reyes left practice early and spent considerable time with his ankle elevated and iced.

• Kashif Moore avoided a potential serious injury trying to make a juggling catch near the sidelines. He took a late shove, and crashed head first into the wall. If it was a hockey game, it may have been a 5-minute major for boarding.

• Jonathan Jean-Louis had a long touchdown run, Malik Generett made a couple of long catches today.

• Hey high schoolers. Are you a borderline college player looking to get some playing time? Or are you buried on the depth chart on the college roster and looking for a way on the field? Become a long snapper. Coaches go gray trying to fill the slot, and won't hesitate to offer up a full ride to someone who can long snap well. Derek Chard will spend this season filling the role again even though he is graduating. He'll enroll in UConn's graduate program with an eye on a business career. "It's hard (to find long snappers)," Edsall said. "It's one less worry having him back. That's why he's not playing tight end anymore. We don't want him to get hurt."

• Mark R. Shenkman was in the house that he helped build today. Randy Edsall spent a while chatting him up, perhaps thanking him once again for the donation. Football practice isn't very effective outside on days like today.