Seattle Seahawks top draft pick, running back Christine Michael, right, tries to avoid the defense of Seahawks' John Lotulelei, left, and Jaydan Bird, second from right, during practice drills Friday.
RENTON — Before he ever got on the field with the newest batch of rookies, Pete Carroll pulled up an interesting piece of film for his coaches to watch Friday morning.
It had nothing to do with anyone who was about to be on the field on the first day of the Seattle Seahawks’ rookie minicamp. Carroll watched the video from quarterback Russell Wilson’s first practice at the same rookie minicamp a year ago. Wilson was miked up for the practice, so coaches got a chance to hear every time he chided himself for a fumbled snap or a missed throw.
The message Carroll was trying to send went beyond getting another look at their franchise QB. Instead, Carroll wanted his coaches to remember that with the rookies, it might not look good at first, but some could end up being contributors.
Major contributors.
“It was kind of funny to see it to know how far he’s come in such a short time,” Carroll said. “It was for the staff to remember that we might not see everything the first day and keep the hopes that we can bring some good stuff out of these guys.”
Carroll spent most of the first day Friday keeping an eye on some offensive prospects the Seahawks selected in last month’s draft. It’s easier for the offensive players to grab attention in a non-padded minicamp, and running back Christine Michael, wide receiver Chris Harper and tight end Luke Willson certainly did that on Day 1.
Michael was Seattle’s highest pick in the 2013 draft, taken with the final pick of the second-round after the Seahawks dealt their first-round pick to Minnesota when they acquired wide receiver Percy Harvin. Seattle drafted Michael to fill the role previously held by Leon Washington, but with a bit more durability to run inside. He was even issued Washington’s old No. 33.
Michael’s quickness was evident on the first day. He added a little fire with a loud scream after racing into the end zone during team drills.
“It was just fun bringing emotion to the game and just having fun, man, competing.” Michael said. “Just that I’m a good player, I’m a great teammate, I’m here to compete, I’m here to learn and just put it all out there. Help contribute to my team as much as possible.”
For any of this batch of rookies to make the Seahawks roster could be more difficult than in the previous three seasons under Carroll. An already young and loaded roster has made the Seahawks a popular Super Bowl pick months before the season begins.
“We’ve told them that we’re looking for the competitiveness. Show us that first. They’re not going to do their assignments all right,” Carroll said. “They’re not going to be technically sound. They’re not going to be right for us. But to show us that they have real good spirit about them, a good will about them, and could be competitive on our football team, that’s most important.”
One curious party to how the rookies were adjusting turned out to be All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. Earlier Friday, Sherman posted on Twitter his intention of riding a jet ski on Lake Washington over to the Seahawks waterfront practice facility. About an hour into practice, Sherman came driving up and lingered just off shore for about 30 minutes, posing for pictures with other onlookers in boats near the facility.
Notes
• Seattle has signed seven of its 11 draft picks. Harper, Willison, DL Jordan Hill, DT Jesse Williams, G Ryan Seymour, LB Ty Powell and OL Jared Smith have all signed.
• Carroll gave more detail on the torn right ACL suffered by defensive lineman Greg Scruggs. The injury occurred a few weeks ago during a bag drill when Scruggs lost his balance and hyperextended his knee. Scruggs had surgery on Thursday, and while all are optimistic about a full recovery, it’s likely he’ll miss most if not all of the 2013 season.
• Smith, a seventh-round pick being converted from defensive to offensive line, started his work Friday at center.
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