CHENEY – Free safety Ken Hamlin makes his living by finding the creases, slipping between obstacles and closing the spaces that separate agony from ecstasy.

Recently he’s also filled another void. The one that has plagued the Seattle Seahawks’ defense in recent years.

Although he is just 24 years old, and with just two years of NFL experience under his belt, Hamlin is gradually developing into the defensive leader the Seahawks have lacked.

“There’s no doubt about it: we haven’t had real strong leadership,” defensive backs coach Teryl Austin said. “What happens is, we’re developing it. When you have as many young guys as we have, and as much turnover, at some point somebody has to step up. And I think he’s one of the guys.

“… Guys gravitate toward him. They like him. He’s a good football player, and that’s why people like to follow him. People know how hard he plays, and that’s something that guys feed off of.”

Hamlin admits that he saw several opportunities to sound off during his rookie year in 2003, when the Seahawks got off to a 5-1 start and soon fell into the tank. Not until late in that season did the then-22-year-old speak up. He remembers veteran teammates Shawn Springs and Willie Williams prodding him, telling him that it was OK to speak your mind if you were passionate about it.

“That’s what helped me realize that, regardless of your age, as long as you know what you’re talking about, it’s a role you can fulfill,” Hamlin said.

Last year, with Springs and Williams among the veterans who had moved on, Hamlin started to take on more of a leadership role. As injuries to teammates like Chad Brown, Anthony Simmons and Grant Wistrom piled up, he slowly began to realize that there weren’t many experienced veterans left.

And so he spoke up more.

“There are some older guys and great leaders on the team, but I don’t mind taking that role,” Hamlin said last week. “I just try to help as much as I can. Anything I can do that will help us, I’ll do.”

Teammates have responded to him, and Hamlin continues to blossom into the role.

“Even when he was a rookie, he kind of had that leadership aura about him,” said linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski, one of just three current Seattle defenders who have played in more Seahawks games than Hamlin’s 32. “In order for people to respect someone as a leader, they’ve got to earn the respect. And he did that quick. He’s fearless, he’s a hitter, and he does all the small things. He got all that respect at first, and naturally people are going to follow him.”

“He’s really got a feel for the game and a feel for his teammates, and he’s a vocal guy,” added cornerback Marcus Trufant. “When he feels like he needs to step up and say something, to get his teammates fired up, he’ll say it. That’s how his mentality has always been.”

Hamlin’s vocal style hasn’t always been pretty. During a practice late last season, when the Seahawks were in the midst of a three-losses-in-four-weeks span, Hamlin exploded at one of his teammates during a mid-week practice. Hamlin grew tired of the teammate nursing a sore hamstring, so he told him to suck it up or get off the field.

“Some guys might not like it when other people are leaders. But I don’t think we have that on this (year’s) team,” Hamlin said. “I think everybody knows that, if you’re vocal, it’s for a good reason. But if you take on that role, you’ve got to know your stuff. You’ve got to be accountable for what you’re doing.”

Coaches have admitted that the team has lacked vocal leaders in recent years, especially on the defensive side of the football. Without naming names, defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes said last week that some leaders have already emerged on the 2005 Seahawks.

“Guys are speaking up more and making other guys accountable,” Rhodes said. “And I like that because it allows the peer pressure for guys to get a solid foundation.”

Hamlin didn’t discount the lack of leadership in recent years.

“That’s probably a good assumption,” he said. “This year, the coaches have kind of leaned on us a little bit more to make plays and to step it up and be more vocal leaders.”

Hamlin believes his leadership comes from a childhood in which he often felt forced to learn things on his own. He was the youngest of four siblings, but the only one who lived with his father.

“I never really had that kind of person I could go to,” Hamlin said. “I had to learn on the run. I learned how to rely on myself.

“… I was with my dad, but that didn’t always mean much. We didn’t have that vocal relationship.”

Not even his siblings could help Hamlin learn about the outside world.

“I wasn’t with them the whole time,” he said. “I had to grow up pretty fast. That made me more accountable for what I did.”

Accountability is what Hamlin says is the key to Seattle’s 2005 defense, which could feature as many as seven new starters. He says the difference this year is that someone other than the coaches will make guys accountable for what happens on the field.

“We gave up too many big plays last year,” he said. “It just shows that the little things really do matter. When you go out and execute those types of things, you can be a great defense.”

The Seahawks have a long way to go to become a great defense, but their 24-year-old free safety believes he can be the man to lead the way.