Erickson Browses All-Stars Seahawks Coach Finds Prime Draft Picks At Senior Bowl, Shrine Game Practices
Two years ago, during the same week he was hired to coach the Seahawks, Dennis Erickson was coaching in the East-West Shrine All-Star Game.
On Erickson’s East roster was Ohio State wide receiver Joey Galloway, who became the Seahawks’ first-round draft choice three months later.
Last year, Erickson and his staff coached a North team in the Senior Bowl all-star game that included Boston College offensive lineman Pete Kendall. In April, the Seahawks selected Kendall in the first round of the NFL draft.
This year, Erickson is on the outside looking in at the all-star games.
But his primary task remains the same: finding a college player who can have as great and immediate impact on the Seahawks as Galloway and Kendall.
“Coaching that Senior Bowl last year really helped as far as evaluation - just being around the players as much as we were, knowing their personalities, seeing their work habits in practice,” Erickson said from Mobile, Ala., where the Senior Bowl was played Saturday.
“We don’t have that inside view this year,” he said. “But we’re here trying to accomplish the same thing, which is find players who can make us a better team.”
Erickson and his assistant, along with co-college scouting director Phil Neri, three other scouts and vice president of football operations Randy Mueller, spent two days last week watching practices for the Shrine game in Palo Alto, Calif. This week, they spent four days in Mobile. Mike Allman, who shares college scouting duties with Neri, attended practices for today’s Hula Bowl in Honolulu.
In addition to their vantage point, the focus also has changed. After looking for offensive help the past two years, the Seahawks will be leaning toward defense with this year’s top draft picks.
Finding a cornerback who can contribute right away while developing into a long-term solution to a long-time problem tops the wish list. Another priority could be a middle linebacker to anchor a run defense that was either very good (an average of 84.9 yards in seven wins) or very bad (an average of 165.8 yards in nine losses) this season.
“Of course, that’s going to depend a lot on what we do the next month or two,” Mueller said.
That’s because linebacker Terry Wooden, strong safety Robert Blackmon and cornerbacks Corey Harris and Carlton Gray become unrestricted free agents next month, meaning they can sign with any team.
The Shrine game and Senior Bowl gave the Seahawks a chance to see the best college seniors available.
The Senior Bowl included eight of the 10 top-rated cornerbacks: Texas’ Bryant Westbrook, Louisville’s Sam Madison, Nebraska’s Michael Booker, Iowa’s Tom Knight, Clemson’s Dexter McCleon, Baylor’s George McCullough, Ohio State’s Ty Howard and Penn State’s Brian Miller.
The Seahawks got to see Madison last week at the Shrine game, as well as a couple of other intriguing corners - Syracuse’s Kevin Abrams, only 5-foot-8 but considered the best cover man in the draft, and Ball State’s Cory Gilliard.
As for linebackers, the Seahawks were getting another look at Washington State’s James Darling and Louisville’s Tyrus McCloud and a first glimpse of Colorado’s Matt Russell. They are considered the best middle linebackers available.