At their training camp, the New England Patriots are trying to see if a college quarterback can become an NFL wide receiver – again.

Bowling Green quarterback Julian Edelman made that transition successfully for New England coach Bill Belichick. From 2009 through 2020, Edelman had 620 receptions for 6,822 yards and 36 touchdowns in 137 regular-season games for the Patriots. He also played for three Super Bowl winners as he collected 118 receptions for 1,442 yards and five touchdowns in 19 postseason games.

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This year, former Park Crossing High School and Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is working at wide receiver in New England’s training camp after joining the Patriots as an undrafted rookie.

“I wouldn’t have came here if they didn’t think I could do it,” Cunningham said, “so it’s always good to see somebody before you do it and be able to watch them in the same offense and just build off that, because you’re not going to be exactly him. He’s one of a kind, just the type of player he is, and just try to pick different stuff from his game and add it to mine.”

What did Cunningham learn from his study of Edelman?

“He’s not the fastest guy,” Cunningham said, “but he knows how to get open, so just using leverage just based off of the defender. When the ball gets in your hands, just being a weapon with it, and that’s something I’ve been accustomed to doing since I’ve been playing football — just getting the ball in my hands and being able to make defenders miss — so that’s the part the game that I’ve patterned behind him.”

Cunningham said he had talked to Edelman about the transition, too.

“He came in the training room and told me to keep my head down, just keep working, just keep learning from the older guys and, like I said, being a sponge,” Cunningham said.

Edelman told MassLive.com that he had tried to share his experience with Cunningham.

“You might be retired, but your experiences and the knowledge you have of the game can move on through the younger players,” Edelman said. “Some of the players I played with that were veteran-type guys did that with me, so that’s part of the game — passing it on. …

“I always tell any young player the same thing, whether you have a rep in practice that’s good or bad, it’s still a bit of experience, so you have to be able to digest that and put that in your head. It’s using every play for a bit of experience, whether good or bad, so you can put things on your tool belt. …

“If you’re making a transition from quarterback to receiver, I was told you better be really great at one thing, and really good at a bunch of things, so make yourself versatile.”

Cunningham passed for 2,913 yards and 30 touchdowns and ran for 1,015 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior at Park Crossing. During his college career at Louisville, Cunningham had 9,660 passing yards, 70 touchdown passes, 3,179 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns.

Cunningham remains listed as a quarterback on the New England roster and has taken some snaps during the Patriots’ training camp.

“It was fun just being back up under the center,” Cunningham said last week. “Like I said, just learning each and every day, being a sponge at every position that they want me at. It felt good to be back under center and get some of those tosses in.”

Mac Jones, the former Alabama All-American who is New England’s No. 1 QB, said Cunningham looked like a playmaker.

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“He’s very athletic,” Jones said. “He’s a smart kid. He works hard. He doesn’t get a lot of reps, but you can see when he’s in there that he’s a little bit of a playmaker. Maybe I can take some of his running ability and add it to my game.”

Cunningham’s speed also has gotten him some work as a gunner on the punt team during training camp.

“I’m just an athletic guy, and whatever the team needs me to do, I’m going to do it and try to do it to the best of my ability,” Cunningham said – and that includes making tackles in punt coverage.

“Man, I haven’t tackled since little league,” Cunningham said. “In college I threw a pick one time and tried to tackle somebody, and two linemen pancaked me, so I haven’t tackled in a minute.”

The Patriots kick off their three-game preseason schedule against the Houston Texans at 6 p.m. CDT Thursday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. NFL Network will televise the game.

Cunningham likely will make his pro debut in the contest.

“It’s definitely different,” Cunningham said, “but just taking it step-by-step, not trying to look ahead. Just do my job at the time I need to do it at.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.