By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND — The diary of rookie Ken Lucas won’t spend too many pages describing his first NFL minicamp:
Day 1: Met my new teammates, learned a few coverages and even made an interception.
Day 2: Got hurt.
Not exactly the debut Lucas envisioned, but the Seattle Seahawks’ second-round draft choice will have plenty of opportunities to make an impression.
Heading into the three-day minicamp, which concluded Sunday morning, Lucas was being targeted as a possible starter at cornerback. He and second-year player Ike Charlton are battling it out for the right to start opposite Shawn Springs. His debut Friday made Lucas look like an early front-runner to win the starting spot, but a Saturday morning hamstring strain put his initial rehearsal on hold.
"I always have (hamstring injuries) during the summer because my body loses a lot of fluids," Lucas said. "I guess it’s because I don’t have much body fat or something."
Despite limited action, Lucas made an impression on the coaching staff.
"He was off to a good start," coach Mike Holmgren said. "It’s too bad."
"I like him," secondary coach Ken Flajole added. "He’s got good upper-body strength and he’s a good-sized corner. He’s got good movement skills. We’re encouraged. I just wish he hadn’t gotten hurt."
What the Seahawks know about Lucas is this: he’s a big cornerback (6-foot, 200 pounds), he has speed and strength, and he led the nation with 30 passes defensed as a senior at the University of Mississippi. Lucas is also such a fine athlete that he made a successful transition from wide receiver to cornerback on his way to All-Southeast Conference honors.
If there is a criticism of Lucas, it’s that he has a knack for getting down on himself after giving up big plays, as he did in the Rebels’ 49-38 loss to West Virginia in the Music City Bowl last December. Lucas’ main task in that game was to cover wide receiver Khori Ivy, who caught six passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
"One thing that will always be the acid test for a younger guy as he’s learning is how fast he responds to a bad play," Flajole said.
"You grow out of it when you get a little older. The thing with him is, he’ll have to grow up in a hurry. Between him and Ike Charlton, those two guys you hope are just wired that way. You hope they realize that this is just part of the process of playing defensive back in the NFL. How you react to that will say a lot."
For his part, Lucas knows that the knock on him is his ability to bounce back from a bad play. He’s working on that part of his game, because the mental part of playing cornerback in the NFL is one of the biggest hurdles for a young player to overcome.
As for the physical part of it, Lucas has to wait until June. His hamstring injury opened the door for Charlton, who worked with the first unit all three days during the minicamp. By the time training camp begins in late July, Lucas hopes to have the inside track on a starting spot.
"I have no other choice," said Lucas, who was converted from wide receiver after his sophomore year at Ole Miss. "That’s what they brought me here for — to come in and help this team win.
"You can’t take a back seat. They’re not paying me to come in and sit on the bench and watch the team play. They want me to come in and contribute to the team. I know I can do that."
His first chance sidetracked, Lucas will have to wait another month to prove what he can do.
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