Thomas Rawls on Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and being undrafted

Seattle Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls wrote an article for Bleacher Report this week, giving insight into his rookie season and the year ahead. It was more revealing about Rawls’ mindset than anything else, but should give fans some additional excitement (not that it’s needed) for the upcoming season with Rawls as the lead back.

I could say the same about all my teammates. There's something different about the Seahawks. The characters we have. The level of aggression. The competitiveness and grit. It's a special group of guys. A premier team destined for greatness. I want to be part of that. I want a ring.

Rawls also mentions how Marshawn Lynch was a mentor to him last year.

But the biggest thing I took from him was just to be yourself. There was a lot of talk during the season of "Beast Mode Jr." or "Beast Mode 2.0." I'm not Beast Mode. I'm Thomas Rawls. He wore 24. I wear 34. I don't have to do anything out of character. I don't have to be like him.

He told me that—told me to just be myself. He told me to just let the game come to you—and then take it. Take over the game. Finish the game 10 times harder than you started, and no matter how hard it is out there, make it look easy.

And what Russell Wilson is like in the huddle.

I remember the first time I was in the huddle with him I was so excited: As I'm looking at him I'm, not even hearing the play, and he's just so...calm.

I don't know if all quarterbacks are like this, but he's incredibly smart. He knows what everyone is doing. He knows where you have to be, the other guys' routes, the protections, this and that—all the while checking the defense...and through it all he's so calm.

Plus why he chose the Seahawks and Pete Carroll over the other teams who called him after the draft.

One of the things Coach Carroll told me, and one of the reasons I chose Seattle, was the way they view undrafted free agents. A lot of guys have made the team there as UDFAs. The Seahawks give people a chance to really show what they can do. To prove themselves on the field. That's all I wanted, and I knew it's all that I would need.

But he did get one thing wrong:

I know with Marshawn gone, some fans worry.

I think most of us having been looking forward to the era of Thomas Rawls as the lead back for almost a year now. It’s almost here.