RENTON — The Seattle Seahawks opened their rookie minicamp Friday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, and just moments before the beginning of the first on-field session they officially announced the 13 players who they signed as undrafted rookie free agents.
Seven of those players had already been revealed by Seahawks general manager John Schneider during a radio interview with 710 AM earlier in the week. The biggest name among those was TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, the 2014 Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Those who hadn’t previously been confirmed included Wisconsin receiver/safety Tanner McEvoy, Western Kentucky tackle/tight end George Fant, Arizona tackle Lene Maiava, Florida International defensive tackle Lars Koht, Illinois State defensive end David Perkins and Rutgers linebacker Steve Longa.
Two of the more interesting names among that group are McEvoy and Fant. McEvoy was used all over the field during his career at Wisconsin on both sides of the ball, including at quarterback. Fant was a basketball standout at Western Kentucky who has little football experience.
The other undrafted rookie free agents who were already known to have signed with the Seahawks are USC running back Tre Madden, Florida Atlantic fullback Brandin Bryant (a converted defensive tackle), Oregon defensive end Christian French, East Carolina linebacker Montese Overton, Colorado State cornerback DeAndre Elliott and Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell.
Ifedi plays guard
Germain Ifedi, Seattle’s first-round draft pick, lined up at right guard during drills Friday.
When the Seahawks selected Ifedi 31st overall last week, the talk was of starting Ifedi out as a right tackle. However, Seattle has changed course with a player who featured at both tackle and guard during his collegiate career at Texas A&M.
“If you go back and look at where he’s played, his film early in his career at right guard showed that he’s really adept at doing that, too,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s got the flexibility to play right tackle as well. We’re going to take a good look at ([free-agent signing) J’Marcus Webb at right tackle, side-by-side with Germain. It looks sweet, they’re about as big and long as you can get. Both guys can handle both positions. If you paid attention to J’Marcus last year (with Oakland) he played 11-12 games at guard and his last three games at tackle, so we’ve seen both of that. We think we have good flexibility there, and as always we’ll see what we can pick up information-wise, but this is where we’ll begin.”
Lawler stands out
When asked who he thought stood out Friday, Carroll’s snap answer was Kenny Lawler, the wide receiver from California who was selected in the seventh round of last week’s draft.
“Kenny Lawler had a great day today,” Carroll said. “He must have caught four balls that were terrific catches. He’s a guy who’s noted for a tremendous catching range, and he had four spectacular opportunities today and he made them all. I was really fired up for that. His hands are so good that we’re not surprised that he can make those plays, but to get the chance to show it on his first day out here is pretty wild. He took advantage of that.”
Tupou takes part
Among the 29 players who went unselected in last week’s draft, but are attending Seattle’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, is Archbishop Murphy High School graduate Taniela Tupou.
Tupou just finished his eligibility at the University of Washington, playing exclusively at defensive tackle. But Tupou took some reps at fullback during Washington’s pro day, and he’s listed on Seattle’s roster as a fullback.
However, Tupou played as a defensive tackle during Friday’s drills.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
