It looks like the roster churn has already started for this year. On the same day that LB Anthony Heygood announced on his Twitter account that he'd be moving on from the Seahawks, it was announced that UDFA LB Blake Sorensen had agreed to terms with the team.
Here's what I can find on Sorensen:
ILB Blake Sorensen, Wisconsin
A 6'1, 227 lb linebacker that was an All-Big10 honorable mention in 2010. He seems to fit the mold as a very versatile and athletic special teams ace that could come in and fill in as depth at linebacker. He's pretty quick - he ran the 40 in 4.73, the 20 yard shuttle in 4.15, and the 3-cone in 6.81.
As I noted ealier, Dave Doeren, who was Wisconsin's defensive coordinator from 2007 through last season, had this to say about him: "The thing that made Blake great for me was how versatile he was. You're looking at a small roster so if you have a linebacker that can be on every special team play, one linebacker position really well, and back up the other two mentally, that gives you a lot of value."
And that's pretty much where he'll look to earn his spot. If he can play in every special teams scheme and provide depth, probably at the weakside linebacker position, he'll have a shot. Slim, but we saw Matt McCoy in this role last season so that will be his primary competition, I'd think.
So, let's take a look at a few more UFDAs recently signed to the team.
QB Zac Lee, Nebraska
Lee is an interesting choice because he's basically been injured for most of the last year. He's a former JUCO transfer to Nebraska that lost out on his job to Taylor Martinez. He's on the short size at 6'1, 215 and doesn't have a lot of experience on the big stage. He played very well for Nebraska in 2009 - posting 2,143 yards passing (5th best for a season in team history). He threw for 14 TDs and 10 interceptions in that year.
From what I can find, he's a West Coast Offense type of QB with some athletic upside. Past that, he looks like a training camp arm at best, but maybe he'll surprise.
FB Dorson Boyce, Washington
Boyce seems to me to be another in a line of FB/H-Back types that John Schneider and Pete Carroll are searching for. I think he'll immediately face stiff competition from fellow UDFA signee Ryan Travis. As noted in a article I linked to earlier, Travis is "a converted running back who played only two full seasons as a combination H-Back/tight end. The only college football player in the country to catch at least 10 passes in every game during the 2010 season, Travis led the nation with 126 catches for 1,402 yards despite playing just a 10-game schedule. His 126 catches and 12.6 average per game are the second-highest single-season marks ever posted by an NCAA Division II receiver while his 15 TD catches tied the NCAA Division II single-season record for tight ends.
Travis is 6'3, 235 lbs. Boyce is similar in size at 6'1, 237 but as far as I can tell wasn't used in the run or pass game at Washington. He did catch passes for Jake Locker at Locker's Pro Day and my best guess is that the Seahawks liked what they saw from him there. He played tight end in high school so presumably has some catching ability.
This is only my guess, but it sure seems that the Hawks are looking for that type of guy that can play the FB/H-back role with athleticism and an ability to catch passes out of the backfield. We'll see what Boyce can offer in that arena.
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