Paulsen prepares for life after fullbacks.

David Paulsen takes everything in stride.

During his senior season at Walton High School in Marietta, Ga., the three-star recruit received many offers from FBS programs, including Oklahoma State.

But the one offer the 6-foot-3, 237-pound running back and defensive end wanted the most was from his childhood favorite Georgia Bulldogs.

After verbally committing to the Cowboys in November 2008, Paulsen began to get excited about the possibilities of playing away from home and experiencing a new part of the country and Big 12 football.

But on signing day, Paulsen was thrown a curveball.

Paulsen woke up at 6 a.m. to be the first to fax his letter of intent to coach Mike Gundy's office.

But before he was able to sign his name to OSU, he received a call from Georgia coach Mark Richt, who was calling to offer Paulsen a full scholarship to play in Athens, Ga.

"It was pretty hard because I grew up a pretty die hard Georgia fan," Paulsen said. "It really made me think that I could stay home and play in front of the home crowd with all of my friends and I could have like a little posse there."

But Paulsen stuck with Oklahoma State, calling Gundy to tell him how excited he was to be coming to Stillwater.

"Oklahoma State just came after me hard," he said. "They were the first ones to come after me instead of me pursuing them."

As a freshman last season, Paulsen played sparingly on special teams and as a little-used fullback in Gundy's offense.

But with the addition of offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen and his high-octane spread offense, the fullback position was eliminated, leaving Paulsen in limbo.

"I was nervous originally with the new offensive scheme because of course coach Holgorsen has a past of spreading it out and throwing the ball a lot," Paulsen said. "But they said their expectations for me were the same and I told them I am here to play."

Gundy said he made sure to meet with both Paulsen and senior fullback Bryant Ward to put their worries at ease and to assure them they still had a purpose with the team.

"We made the change and he wanted to be here," Gundy said. "Anytime we have a player that is concerned about their future we don't have an issue discussing it, but David said it never crossed his mind because this is where he wanted to be."

Paulsen will be used more on special teams this season and expects to see more time at inside receiver and as a goal line back.

"I am definitely going to make some big holes on the goal line like I planned to originally," he said. "I think I am more suited for this offense than I was the last one."

Senior running back Kendall Hunter said he has been impressed with how Paulsen has adjusted to playing a different role this upcoming season.

"I don't know what I would do if that happened (to me)," Hunter said. "He took it well because he is a team player and he will do whatever it takes to help the team win."

Despite foregoing his lifelong dream of playing football for Georgia and facing uncertainty at OSU, the seemingly always upbeat Paulsen said he doesn't regret his decision and said he feels like his life has taken a unexpected but great turn.

"It's definitely been altered," Paulsen said. " I really wanted to do something different and I think I am better for it."