Pappy Frog
New Member
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By John Boyle
RENTON -- The busiest man in the Seattle Seahawks training camp this summer might just be linebacker David Hawthorne.
Hawthorne, who started 11 games last season at middle linebacker in place of an injured Lofa Tatupu, opened training camp as the Seahawks starting weakside linebacker. But in addition to the time he spent as an outside linebacker, Hawthorne continued to serve as Tatupu's backup with the second-team offense. Now, with Tatupu resting a hamstring injury. Hawthorne is back at middle linebacker with the No. 1 defense.
But as exhausting, and perhaps confusing, as this training camp may be, the third-year linebacker, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of TCU, sees the extra snaps and the two-position juggling act as good things.
"Well, I'll definitely be in shape come time for the season, and that's always a positive," he said. "Just doing Mike (middle) and Will (weakside) flip-flopping, it's making me real versatile. It's giving me a lot of knowledge so I can see the whole picture."
And it's a good picture Hawthorne is seeing. After a rookie year in which he made a name for himself as a hard hitter on special teams -- teammates nicknamed him "The Heater" -- Hawthorne was one of the few pleasant surprises in 2009, leading the team with 116 tackles in place of Tatupu.
By John Boyle
RENTON -- The busiest man in the Seattle Seahawks training camp this summer might just be linebacker David Hawthorne.
Hawthorne, who started 11 games last season at middle linebacker in place of an injured Lofa Tatupu, opened training camp as the Seahawks starting weakside linebacker. But in addition to the time he spent as an outside linebacker, Hawthorne continued to serve as Tatupu's backup with the second-team offense. Now, with Tatupu resting a hamstring injury. Hawthorne is back at middle linebacker with the No. 1 defense.
But as exhausting, and perhaps confusing, as this training camp may be, the third-year linebacker, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of TCU, sees the extra snaps and the two-position juggling act as good things.
"Well, I'll definitely be in shape come time for the season, and that's always a positive," he said. "Just doing Mike (middle) and Will (weakside) flip-flopping, it's making me real versatile. It's giving me a lot of knowledge so I can see the whole picture."
And it's a good picture Hawthorne is seeing. After a rookie year in which he made a name for himself as a hard hitter on special teams -- teammates nicknamed him "The Heater" -- Hawthorne was one of the few pleasant surprises in 2009, leading the team with 116 tackles in place of Tatupu.
