KIRKLAND — When Steve Vallos showed up for his second training camp as a Seattle Seahawk, the expectations were fairly low. The plan was to work as a backup guard and occasionally give veteran Chris Gray, the backup center, a break while filling in as the No. 2 center.
How quickly things can change.
This Friday night, when the Seahawks travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings in their preseason opener, Vallos will be Seattle’s starting center.
“It’s different,” Vallos said. “Coming in, I just had the mentality to do what I can. I just figured I’d be there to give Chris Gray a break. But the way it’s turned out is completely the opposite of what I thought.”
With starter Chris Spencer still recovering from a strained back, and Gray announcing his retirement, Vallos is the best option the Seahawks have.
He played tackle at Wake Forest, earning enough attention from pro scouts that the Seahawks took him in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft. Vallos moved to guard as a pro, and stayed with the team as a practice-squad player.
Because the Seahawks had no backup practice center — Gray was the starting right guard but would have moved to center if Spencer got hurt — Vallos started playing the position for the first time in his life when the 2007 regular season started.
Less than a year later, he is playing center on Seattle’s No. 1 line.
“It was a little scary at first,” Vallos said. “To go from the threes to the ones is a big jump. You get a lot more reps and everybody’s watching. You can’t make mistakes or bad things happen. I’m just taking it one day at a time and trying to get better as I go.”
Spencer is expected back next week, at which time Vallos probably will drop to the second team.
“I’ve got to keep getting better and keep learning the position,” Vallos said. “Just having Chris Spencer here helps me a lot.”
SEAHAWK NOTES
Short-handed: The Seahawks have not announced what players stay behind when they travel to Minnesota later this week.
But it’s a good bet that starters like Spencer and defensive end Patrick Kerney (calf) will not play. Reserves Floyd Womack (knee), Jordan Babineaux (knee) and Logan Payne (cracked rib) are also candidates to stay in Seattle.
Wide receiver Deion Branch and defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs, who are rehabilitating from offseason knee surgeries, will not be on the field for Friday’s game.
Heading south: The Seahawks will hold their first practice at the new Renton practice facility this morning, but the session is closed to the public.
The team officially moves to the new facility during the next two weeks. The facility is not ready to host fans, however, and so any training camp practices held there this month are likely to be closed.
Quick slants: Tight end Will Heller and wide receiver Michael Bumpus were among the latest Seahawks to be sidelined by injuries. Both players have strained hamstrings. … Wide receiver Trent Shelton, a first-year player from Baylor, is making an impression with some solid practices. He made several nice plays at Monday’s practices, including a long reception after beating cornerback Josh Wilson on a post pattern.
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