Dave Boling: Veteran Bobby Wagner hustles like a rookie during Seahawks’ first day of training camp

RENTON, Wash. – In a real game, Geno Smith would have been tackled for a sack or maybe a short gain.

But given the rules of Seahawks training camp, quarterbacks are free to run unimpeded, or maybe with nothing more than a gentle cuddle from the defense. Smith took the opportunity to break out from a scrum of defenders and sprint to the sideline and turn upfield.

From the knot of defenders that had geared down knowing the play was essentially over burst a white-jerseyed blur, sprinting the hypotenuse to intersect the quarterback near the sideline.

Surely the defender had to be some rookie trying to earn points with conspicuous hustle.

Nope. This was Bobby Wagner, starting his 13th season, and one day short of his 34th birthday.

Why would Wagner rev so high in a camp in July? Because that’s how a team leader establishes expectations for the rest of the team. This is how Wagner has always practiced, and why he is still climbing up the unofficial list of all-time great Seahawks.

And that’s the quality that elevates great players to an even higher level – up where champions reside.

“He’s the consummate leader,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He understands how important it is to send that message. That’s why he does that. He wants to make sure guys see him. He shows them how to play. He’s never not been that way.”

Wagner was allowed to leave before last season, and he made the Hawks pay for it, coming up with 140 tackles and six sacks. Seattle corrected the oversight and brought Wagner back, and he’s playing with a rookie’s intensity.

The Hawks’ first training-camp practice of the 2023 season was impressive under a cloudless sky and temperate weather.

These guys are extraordinarily fast, especially the rookies, including receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh. All three had big plays Wednesday at the Virginia Mason team headquarters.

Smith-Njigba has jets and hands and precision routes, catching deep balls up the sideline or over the middle in traffic.

“He’s as natural as a guy can be,” Carroll said.

Remember, this is the guy who had 15 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns for Ohio State in the 2022 Rose Bowl. That’s unnatural, Pete.

Dee Eskridge, a second-round pick in 2021, also had a number of noticeable catches Wednesday. Add it up and just one day into the preseason Smith must be drooling over his receiver options.

As every Carroll Seahawks practice has been since he got here in 2010, the tempo is metronomic. No standing, no strolling, no wasted motions.

“We want to make sure we maximize every opportunity,” Carroll said. “The guys work together very well. You’d be surprised how much we talk to them about cooperating, fitting in on the drills, helping one another fit so we get the looks. The running backs set the tempo because the defense is chasing them and offense has to pursue in their blocks.”

Practices are purposeful. Players appreciate that. It helps them better prepare for the pressure of games.

New to camp this year is a nice technological wrinkle, a 10-by-8-foot screen that shows instant replays of the action. It’s not for fans, but for the coaches and players, who can consult it and immediately correct mistakes.

The blare of broadcast music remains constant, as it has since Carroll’s first days, as he believes it helps replicate the chaotic stadium environment. Someone curates the musical offerings, mixing vintage and contemporary, and deserves applause for having retained James Brown’s “Hot Pants” from the 2010 playlists.

After practice, Wagner patiently spent time talking to fans and signing autographs. He was asked about opening the season at Lumen Field against his “foster team” of last year.

“I’m definitely gonna hit some Rams,” he said.

Of course he will.

The 2022 Seahawks surprised the NFL by winning nine games last season, the first after the seismic trade of quarterback Russell Wilson. They gained confidence and the young players performed with surprising maturity.

But the team missed Bobby Wagner.

What a true contender needs is a leader who represents the proud, beating heart of the team. On the first day of the 2023 season, Wagner again proved he is the man for the job.