Rookies' end first NFL camp

KIRKLAND - Seattle Seahawks rookie defensive tackle Red Bryant had just finished being interviewed after the team's final day of minicamp Sunday morning when he walked through a door that leads to the locker room.

Suddenly, he turned back, looked at a group of people standing by the entrance and exclaimed, "Did you guys see that? That was (ESPN's) John Clayton I was talking to."

Such is the life of an NFL neophyte, where the interviewee is more impressed by the interviewer.

It wasn't the only thing to which Bryant and his fellow rookies were attempting to acclimate themselves.

Bryant, the team's fourth-round pick, spoke of the strength of every player on the field. Lawrence Jackson, the team's first-round pick, said the offensive linemen get out of their stance much more quickly. Second-round pick John Carlson said that the defensive backs are much faster, which requires more precise route-running.

"It is a lot different than the college game," Carlson said.

The team's veterans will continue this week with a voluntary minicamp that will consist of one practice a day. But per league rules the rookies were shuttling out of the team's practice facility, taking flights home or back to their respective schools.

Jackson was going to Los Angeles to work out at USC. Carlson, a Minnesota native, was going to Notre Dame.

And Bryant was flying to Texas to rejoin his fiancee, Janelle Green, who will move with him to Seattle.

All the players will be back in a few weeks for the team's next minicamp at the beginning of June, but until then they will have time to reflect on their first experience with their new teammates.

"I was a little rusty, not being around football for a couple months," Jackson said. "I felt like my last practice was better than the other ones and I kept getting better and better.

"Obviously they expect us to come in and be productive, and I think I showed the core part of me as an athlete and what I can do. Now it is just tweaking things and getting to that professional level."