Field Gulls
Ouzts was a tight end at Alabama but projects as a fullback in the NFL.
This was definitely the most surprising pick of the entire Seattle Seahawks draft. Robbie Ouzts was a player projected to be an undrafted free agent, and he wasn’t a great test player at the NFL Combine, unlike most of the picks. Even though he was a late fifth-round pick, it was still early for a FB project.
Ouzts is from Rock Hill and grew up with Brad Hoover, the Panthers’ FB, as his favorite player. In fact, it was because of him that he picked number 45 during his time at Alabama. He played in high school as a hybrid of FB and TE and played in that same role when he chose to go to Alabama as a 3-star prospect.
The Seahawks have some excellent fullbacks in their history. John L. Williams (1986-1993) was the first of these, helping pave the way for Curt Warner and making two Pro Bowls with the Seahawks. He helped block Curt Warner in the late 1980s and then made two Pro Bowls with the Seahawks in 1990 and 1991 before finishing his career with the Steelers. During his ten-year NFL career, Williams played in 149 regular season games, started 135 of them, and had 1,245 carries for 5,005 yards and eighteen rushing touchdowns, and 546 receptions for 4,656 yards and nineteen receiving touchdowns.
After Williams came Mack Strong (1993-2007) a UDFA out of Georgia (one of my favorite players on the team when I played Madden 07). He played no less than fourteen years in the NFL, all with Seattle providing a role for iconic RBs such as Chris Warren, Ricky Waters and Shaun Alexander. Strong made the Pro Bowl in 2005 and 2006, and was named to the All-Pro First Team in 2005, the year that Shaun Alexander won the MVP award. Strong was a five-time winner of the Steve Largent Award (given annually by the Seattle Seahawks to the team’s player who best exemplifies spirit, dedication and integrity), the most times a Seahawk has won the honor. He finished his career with 1,456 receiving yards for 10 TDs and 909 rushing yards for 5 TDs. In addition, he held the record for the longest run in Seahawks playoff history, 32 yards against the Washington Redskins in the 2005 Divisional Round. This record was later broken, also against the Saints, by Marshawn Lynch’s 67-yard Beastquake. Due to a herniated disc in his neck, Strong had to retire.
In the following years, the position was occupied by Leonard Weaver and Justin Griffith without much prominence. Then, the Seahawks signed Michael Robinson (2010-2013) after being released by the San Francisco 49ers. Robinson was a jack of all trades at Penn State, playing receiver, running back and QB. He was selected in the fourth round in 2006 and became the RB2 behind Frank Gore. Robinson was moved to fullback after...
