Nose Tackle update

[D-train]

Seahawks feeling better about nose tackle
Maybe the most noteworthy development was fourth-round pick Cameron Young of Mississippi State weighing in at 320 compared with his listing of 304. That puts him more in the range the Seahawks have traditionally preferred for their nose tackles.

“He looked exactly like what we were hoping to see,’’ said coach Pete Carroll.

They also signed two other nose tackles as undrafted free agents who Carroll also said made good first impressions — Robert Cooper of Florida State and Jonah Tavai of San Diego State. Cooper more fits the traditional nose tackle mold than Tavai at a listed 6-1, 309. Tavai is listed at 5-10, 283.

Carroll said the trio of Young, Cooper and Tavai has him feeling more comfortable with what the Seahawks have at nose tackle, which has been a lingering concern after the release of Al Woods for salary-cap reasons, Poona Ford moving on to Buffalo as a free agent and Bryan Mone still in rehab mode from an ACL injury last December.

“We’re putting together kind of a real competition there,’’ Carroll said. “Tavai’s got a big background of playmaking. He’s done so much (he has the third-most sacks in SDSU history with 34 and played 48 college games). He made so many plays in the backfield and been so hard to deal with and all. We have come to appreciate his style. He’s not a big guy. He’s just a real instinctive football player, great leverage and all that because of his size.

“Coop’s (Robert Cooper) a big kid, too, now, and you see how he does. So, the position already looks way better than it did a week ago. We’re concerned, too. We wanted to make sure we had guys in here to battle and to push Cam (Young), too, so that he’s got that fire burning under him, too.”

Carroll hinted there could be more moves to come up front.

“We’re not done yet,’’ Carroll said. “We’ve still got work to do there.’’

But for now, they appear to feel better about the base that they have.

[Sibelius Hindemith]

So being 16 lbs fatter makes him a legit NT?

[Donn Beach]

And everybody was complaining about Carter putting on weight

[D-train]

Yeah its funny, if you saw two guys of the same height and one weighed 320 and one weight 304 would you know which was which?

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Salk was going on this morning about how impressed he was with Hall at the mini-camp. Why? Because he's bigger than Cliff and just looks really strong out there. Gott love the off-season.

[D-train]

Its just refreshing to follow a team that doesn't do something idiotic every single. Relative to the M's, finding out a guy is 16 pounds fatter than we thought is cause for rejoicing. lol

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Coop’s (Robert Cooper) a big kid, too, now, and you see how he does.

What does that mean? Was he killin'it in camp?

[Sibelius Hindemith]

It's weird, Tavai is listed at 6'0" 290 everywhere except the Seahawks website.

[douche]

From Sports Illustrated:

"As for Tavai, few defenders compiled better overall numbers at the FCS level over the past two seasons than he did at San Diego State. A frequent harasser for quarterbacks, he finished second in the country with 63 pressures and finished with 10.5 sacks in 2022, following up an impressive junior year with 57 pressures and 8.5 sacks. In addition, he racked up 28 tackles for loss, equally dominating against the run.

Still, Tavai didn't hear his name called in the NFL draft due to unideal measurables and poor athletic testing. Undersized at 5-10, 283 pounds with 29-inch arms and underwhelming 5.06 40-yard dash speed, teams clearly questioned if his college production could translate against superior competition after feasting on the Mountain West conference.

Referencing Tavai's unusual short, stocky build for the position, Carroll acknowledged the Seahawks would have to "appreciate his style" for him to succeed in the league. But his football IQ and penchant for disruption should give him a chance to hold his own in the competition if they can find ways to emphasize his strengths and mitigate his obvious limitations in their scheme."

[Sibelius Hindemith]

So that guy says he's 5'10" also. You would think somewhere they would have him at 5'11" just to split the difference. I mean, 2 inches is significant.