Hit ground running

Chris Spencer, the Seahawks’ 2005 first-round draft pick, has the luxury of playing with the second team behind veteran Robbie Tobeck.

Second-round pick Lofa Tatupu, although he is expected to challenge for a starting role at middle linebacker, has been mostly watching, sidelined with a tender hamstring.

Seattle’s third selection, quarterback David Greene, is a long way from appearing in a regular-season NFL game.

Their fourth pick, outside linebacker LeRoy Hill, has worked himself into a much different position.

“I’m not coming out much,” Hill said.

Partially due to injuries, but mostly to his ability to get to the ball, the 98th pick in the 2005 draft out of Clemson is taking snaps with the first-team defense. This all comes just 12 days into his first professional training camp.

At Clemson, Hill was the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season, when he led the team in tackles with 106 and recorded eight sacks.

Fourth-year veteran outside linebacker D.D. Lewis has been out since Aug. 1 when he suffered a concussion during a helmet-to-helmet collision with fullback Leonard Weaver, and Hill has filled the void so far.

”(Defensive coordinator) Ray Rhodes and (linebackers coach) John Marshall really like him,” head coach Mike Holmgren said. “His thing is just playing and getting used to our defense. Physically, he is a real talent in our opinion. Now having said that, he has to play a lot.”

At 6-foot-1, 229 pounds, Hill is big enough, and that coupled with his good speed has him playing alongside middle linebacker Niko Koutouvides and Jamie Sharper with the first unit. He’s also seeing a lot of time as a nickel coverage linebacker along with Isaiah Kacyvenski.

It’s part of an overhaul at the linebacker position, which was manned last year by Anthony Simmons (released), Orlando Huff (signed with Arizona) and Chad Brown (released).

In attempting to replace the departed, Hill has had to take on a responsibility beyond that of a regular rookie.

“Coach (Marshall) stays on me for every single mistake,” Hill said. “He told me he’s treating me like a first-teamer since I’m in there. They aren’t cutting much slack on me.”

He’s had to learn quite a bit in a short amount of time, and Hill says he feels like he’s at about 85 percent in regard to his understanding of the defense, but the high level of time on the playing field has proven invaluable.

“I’m understanding stuff more and more as reps come,” Hill said. “They can come out in a new formation against a new coverage and I have to adjust to that. Right now, I’m almost getting there.”

What he’s missing at this point is more of the technique and need for perfection on every play when all your opponents are NFL-caliber athletes.

“I know what to do, but it’s just the technique against other pros,” Hill said. “Everybody’s pretty good. In college, you go against a tight end and it’s pretty easy, but now, you’ve got Jerramy Stevens, and you’ve got to have better technique.”

The grind of NFL training camp and learning the playbook has gotten to him, though.

“I look over (the playbook) as much as I can during the day,” Hill said after Tuesday morning’s practice. “You know, when I’m not sleeping, because right now I’m about to take a nap.”

Backup plan

Holmgren addressed the possibility that the team goes after a veteran backup quarterback, noting that the chance is inversely related to the amount of success Seneca Wallace has in preseason games.

“If Matt (Hasselbeck) gets bumped around then Seneca has to go in and play,” Holmgren said. “It is an important role on this football team. I need to see him show poise and run the football team, and communicate well with me and his teammates.”

In the 2004 preseason, Wallace played in all four games, completing a low number of passes (41 of 77 for 53.2 percent) for 439 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Holmgren has been high on Wallace early on, but realizes that if he doesn’t feel good about him in preseason games, he’ll need to go find somebody.

“I think he will play well. I believe he will play well,” Holmgren said. “I have to feel comfortable at that position. I think the team does also, I think we will. If it goes haywire in the preseason, then we have to think about doing something else.”

Hackett improving

Wide receiver D.J. Hackett has emerged a little recently, taking some snaps Tuesday in three-wideout sets with Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram.

“He has improved. He understands a little bit of what we want from him,” Holmgren said. “I think he is one of our deep ball threats. He is a very fluid guy and he has good speed. He is very athletic, and can make the tough catches.”

Seattle drafted the 6-foot-2, 199-pound Hackett in the fifth round (157th overall) in the 2004 NFL Draft out of Colorado. He was with the Seahawks last year, but was declared inactive for the first seven games of the regular season before ending up on injured reserve with a bad hip.

Notes

RB Shaun Alexander practiced at full speed Tuesday, bursting through holes a couple times and cutting well, leading Holmgren to believe his hamstring has healed pretty well. It is still unclear whether he will play Friday in the preseason opener at New Orleans. … Seattle signed DT Cleveland Pinkney, adding depth to the defensive line. Pinkney played last year with the Carolina Panthers and with Tampa Bay in 2003. … WR Marque Davis (hamstring) practiced for the first time since Aug. 1 on Tuesday afternoon.