While most media outlets focus on former Duck QB, Marcus Mariota, and the latest swirl about him and the 2015 NFL Draft, players such as C Hroniss Grasu are vigorously training in hopes of being drafted by a team.
No one knows of his whereabouts with regards to training, but my guess is that he’s still at the UO, working with the training staff before the big day — April 30th. More importantly, as Mariota met with a few teams in Eugene, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Grasu was mentioned to be the center on all of the plays.
Meanwhile, one of the most intriguing stories that occurred with the Seattle Seahawks was that they traded a team leader and Pro Bowl starting C Max Unger for TE Jimmy Graham. Unger was drafted out of Oregon by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2009 Draft, and has been pivotal to the development of Seattle’s offensive line. With Unger heading to New Orleans, can Grasu successfully fill that role in Seattle?
Serving as a vocal leader for the offensive line, Grasu was an integral part in Oregon’s offensive blocking schemes.
During his collegiate years with the high-flying Ducks, Grasu served as the core of the offensive line for 50 consecutive games before his injury against the Utah Utes on November 8th, 2014.
Given his ability to move quickly off the line and exhibit similar traits to Unger, Grasu is the perfect replacement for Unger. Some traits he has similar to Unger are his pass blocking, balance, and lateral movement along the line on run plays.
It’s fair for Seattle fans to argue that an offensive lineman coming from a collegiate football program focused on the spread offense, will find it especially difficult to adjust to an NFL-based offense. That’s what most critics argued about Mariota, but he’s already proven them wrong with his NFL-style passing ability and football knowledge.
Given the fact that Seattle acquired Graham and most likely will re-sign QB Russell Wilson to a huge contract extension, it seems that Seattle is investing a ton of money in their passing offense. So, in that regard, the idea of drafting Grasu makes perfect sense.
Top Photo by Kevin Cline
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Hey! My name is Austin Willhoft and I’m currently a freshman at the University of Oregon studying Journalism. I lived my whole life down in sunny and beautiful Laguna Beach, CA where I completed all of my prior education. I always have been into sports writing/reporting mostly due to the fact that I love watching, analyzing, and playing all kinds of sports. However, if I were to narrow it down between two sports, it would be basketball and football, both of which I played heavily in high school. I’m thrilled to be working for FishDuck.com and most importantly being a third generation to attend the UO. Sko Ducks!