Mike Martin said he needed just one day -- actually just one pitch -- to put his mind at ease.

That's how long it took for Buster Posey, a freshman All-American at shortstop last season, to convince Martin that his baseball future was at catcher.

Posey made the move behind the plate at the start of fall practices in what was initially viewed as an experiment.

"I would say the experiment is over," Martin said. "He's very impressive and we're counting on him to start for us behind the plate."

Posey started all 65 games last season at shortstop and finished second on the team in hitting with a .346 average. But when FSU assistant coach Mike Martin Jr. approached him earlier this fall about considering the move to catcher, Posey jumped at the chance.

"He loved it," Martin Jr. said. "As soon as I said it, he said, 'Funny you should mention that.' That's all I needed to hear. I said let's go with it. He's excited about it. He's enthusiastic."

Posey brings raw tools to the catcher position that simply can't be coached. His fastball has been clocked in the low 90's, and that right arm will give FSU's defense a boost when it comes to stopping opposing runners.

Last season, opponents were 59 of 85 in stolen base attempts.

Posey has been consistently timed throwing from home plate to second base in 1.8-1.9 seconds, Martin Jr. said. In fact, his coach said Posey has yet to be timed slower than 1.9 seconds.

For comparison's sake, former catcher Tony Richie – probably the standard for defensive catchers at FSU in the last 10-15 years – consistently made the same throw in (or just under) 2.0 seconds.

"I haven't coached an arm like that behind the plate," Martin Jr. said, "nor will I. It's impressive."

But Posey also adds one more dimension to the catcher's position that has been lacking since Richie's departure – offense.

Until Danny Diaz's home run against Georgia last June in the NCAA regional, FSU catchers went nearly two full seasons without a single homer. Diaz hit .199 in 55 starts last season; his backup, Kyle Maxie, hit .155 in 58 at-bats.

With Posey now behind the plate, it should eliminate one trouble spot in FSU's batting lineup. And it adds just one more reason why Martin Jr. said he felt so strongly that Posey should consider making the move.

"I've thought about it as soon as I saw Buster when we recruited him," Martin Jr. said. "He's got a catcher's body. He's got great hands and arm strength and obviously he can hit. I've always thought he would be very valuable to a major league club as a catcher/third baseman. I think everybody sees he's not a major league shortstop because of foot speed and range. That's not demeaning to him at all; that's just the way he is. But his body is very sturdy and it's very conducive to catching and playing third base."

Posey said he welcomed the position switch for two reasons.

"The first thing I look at is how it will help the team," Posey said. "And I think it will be beneficial to me in three years. Hopefully."

Posey said he has been told since high school that the catcher position might be in his future. But when he ended his freshman season at FSU it seemed more likely that Posey would either be spending his sophomore campaign at third base or even at pitcher.

Posey spent time in the Cape Cod summer league rotating between shortstop and third, and even got in some pitching work. He said he prepared for FSU's fall practices unsure of where he would play this season.

"I tried to keep an open mind because I had no idea what could happen," Posey said. "I thought I could end up playing short and pitching or playing third and pitching. I didn't really think about catching. But I'm going to see how catching affects my body and go to pitching from there."

Posey actually threw some during an intra-squad scrimmage on a recent Sunday afternoon. His fastball topped out at 89 miles per hour.

Martin said he is unsure how he will use Posey on the mound this spring, but added that he will use him in some capacity.

"He will continue to pitch," Martin said. "We're not ruling that out either. It's a great talent that you want to take full advantage of. We're not going to start him, but we're certainly going to keep him ready to pitch because he has outstanding stuff."

Though FSU coaches say the move to catcher should benefit Posey's standing with professional baseball scouts, they are also happy to make the move because it opens up an infield position for transfer Mark Hallberg, who played at the University of Illinois-Chicago last season.

Hallberg, who hit .373 in 55 games for Illinois-Chicago as a sophomore, has impressed coaches in the fall practice at shortstop and appears to have locked down a starting position. He played in the Cape Cod league with FSU pitcher Michael Hyde this summer and decided to transfer when he realized his former school did not offer his preferred major of Physical Education.

"Mark has exceptional feet," Martin said. "He reminds me a lot of Jody Reed the way he gets to balls. He's a winner. He'll do whatever it takes. He's not a power guy. He's not going to hit the ball out of the park. He's just a solid baseball player. He'll hit the ball the other way. He'll bunt. He'll steal a base. He's been playing very solid defensively. He's a real godsend."

Hallberg's arrival and Posey's move has helped shore up the middle of FSU's defense. Returning starter Tony Thomas Jr. is back at second base where he is being pushed by sophomore Tommy Oravetz. Tallahassee native Brandon Reichert, a transfer from Mercer who sat out last season, appears to be in control of the race to start at third base. He is holding off a challenge from freshman Stephen Cardullo, but Martin said he's still hoping to see more from Reichert, who played at Tallahassee-Godby.

"Brandon is getting more comfortable there. He still has a long way to go defensively," Martin said. "But he's just a quality baseball player. He's got the experience. This is his senior year. He transferred in and this is the opportunity to play. We're not real pleased with everything we're seeing defensively, but he's got time to turn that around."

Though it is certainly a long way until the spring season begins, Martin appears to have just one more position battle left to decide this fall. Freshman Ohmed Danesh, from Orlando's Dr. Phillips High, is battling sophomore Mark Gildea for the job in centerfield.

"We're still trying to find out who is going to play centerfield," Martin said. "Travis Anderson has looked very good in left field. I would say that third base and centerfield are the two positions right now that we're trying to figure out."

Martin said, with a wink, not to be surprised to see Posey play a little third base and centerfield at some point this season. Of course, Martin said that as he brought up the idea of scheduling a promotional night where Posey is allowed to play all nine positions in a game. Previously, Martin has done the same for former FSU stars Mark Barineua, Jose Marzan, Jose Zabala and Mike Martin Jr.

"He's so capable of doing it," Martin said.

Martin Jr., the last FSU player to take part in such a promotion, said he has no doubts Posey could pull off the feat. In fact, he said folks will struggle to find a more versatile player in the country this season.

Martin Jr. said he still has a hard time believing just how talented Posey can be as a catcher/pitcher this season.

"It's uncanny. It''s almost impossible when you think about it," Martin Jr. said. "It's a game he's played all of his life. He's played every position at one point in his life. He's extremely talented. He's probably the only guy in the country who can do it, let's put it that way."

Posey said he's just happy to play a role on this team – wherever that leaves him on the field.

"It's a matter of our goal is to get to Omaha every year," Posey said, "and it's the coaches' jobs to make sure we are as best prepared as possible. So I'm fine with the move."