Seahawks draft for more depth

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Mike Holmgren hadn’t made phone calls like this before.

The first one Sunday came when the Seahawks coach dialed Ohio State offensive lineman Rob Sims to tell him he was Seattle’s fourth-round draft choice. Holmgren tried to tip off Sims, who was in his hometown of Macedonia, Ohio, to turn up the volume on his television for the thrill of hearing his name announced as the 128th overall choice.

“Um, coach, I’m in church,” Sims told his new coach.

As Holmgren began to apologize, Sims told him the interruption was welcomed.

“The whole congregation was waiting for this phone call,” he said.

“I was praying to get picked,” Sims said, when asked why he wasn’t in front of his TV for the most important call of his 22 years.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Buckeyes tackle said Holmgren called during a pastor’s sermon on “catching a dream, which was pretty fitting.”

“The pastor said he knew I had to get up for something if I had to get up during the sermon,” he said. “It was great.”

Holmgren’s second call was to David Kirtman. The Southern California fullback was the Seahawks’ fifth round pick.

Kirtman fits the blocking, good pass-catching mold Seattle offense requires for its fullbacks. Better yet, he is more than a native of Mercer Island, Wash., across Lake Washington from downtown Seattle – he is Holmgren’s neighbor.

So when Holmgren introduced himself over the phone Sunday, Kirtman blurted, “Oh, get out!”

“Oh, my God! I feel so great,” a giddy Kirtman said later from Long Beach, Calif., near where he is taking USC graduate school classes. “There is no other situation I would have wanted than this.”

Holmgren knows Kirtman’s father, Louis. The two played against each other decades ago in the San Francisco city league, Holmgren for Lincoln High School and Louis Kirtman for Lowell.

The elder Kirtman eventually became a president within San Francisco-based Levi Strauss before he was transferred to Seattle when David was 9. Yet Kirtman, who was the Trojans’ full-time blocker for only the 2005 season in front of headlining runners Reggie Bush and LenDale White, said he never met Holmgren – even though he said his family’s driveway was about 25 yards from the coach’s.

As Holmgren said: “With my crazy hours, I don’t see anybody. Ever. I’m not anti-social, but I don’t go around borrowing many cups of sugar all the time.”

Didn’t the teenage Kirtman at least toilet-paper Holmgren’s house?

“That’s happened a couple of times, but I don’t think it was him,” Holmgren said, chuckling.

Holmgren said Kirtman is more than a familiar name: He is the rare, true collegiate fullback who blocks first and is fine with carrying the ball rarely.

“And he has great hands,” Holmgren said of the All Pac-10 honorable mention selection. “That’s the perfect guy at that position for us.”

Kirtman may have to wait to play much. Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong re-signed for a 14th Seattle season last month. So Kirtman and second-year Seahawk Leonard Weaver, an undrafted free agent in 2005, will battle to be Strong’s backup and to play special teams.

Sims arrives to add more versatility to an already flexible offensive line. He entered Ohio State as guard, but played tackle his first three seasons before moving back to guard last summer. Seattle now has Sims, recently signed New England free agent Tom Ashworth and veteran Floyd Womack who can play both guard and tackle.

Holmgren has said Womack will get the first chance to replace All-Pro left guard Steve Hutchinson as starter. Hutchinson signed a free-agent contract with Minnesota last month.

With their first pick of the seventh round, the Seahawks selected punter Ryan Plackemeier from Wake Forest – despite having recently re-signed veteran punter Tom Rouen. At a listed 6-3 and 253 pounds, Plackemeier is 2 inches taller and 1 pound heavier than the Seahawks’ second-round pick, Virginia Tech defensive end Darryl Tapp.

He won the Ray Guy award last season as the nation’s best punter, with an average of 47.2 yards per punt.

Their final pick came at 249th overall, Ben Obomanu. The 6-1, 205-pound Obomanu was Auburn’s leading receiver in 2005 with 33 catches.

Holmgren said he was “very, very pleased” with how Seattle’s draft went. It filled Seattle’s needs for a potential starting cornerback in first-round pick Kelly Jennings, a pass-rushing defensive end with Tapp and then depth.

Holmgren said he also considers receiver Nate Burleson and safety Mike Green as draftees. The Seahawks signed Burleson, Minnesota’s restricted free agent, at the cost of their third-round choice. Last week, they traded their sixth-round pick to Chicago for veteran safety Mike Green, who will get a chance to start.