During 11-on-11 drills at the Seattle Seahawks training camp last week, fullback Robbie Ouzts took a handoff and plowed into the line.
“It’s awesome,” Ouzts said on Friday about getting the football. “It’s a dream come true. My last carry was in high school, so a little bit rusty at it. But we kind of worked on it a little bit today in our walkthrough, so I’m excited to see where that play goes.”
The gap between rushing attempts for Ouzts exists because when he joined the Seahawks from Alabama in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on April 26, he had been playing tight end for the Crimson Tide.
Seattle drafted Ouzts with the intention of turning him into a fullback.
Seattle used a fullback on 1.1 percent of its offensive snaps last season. But the Seahawks have a new offensive coordinator for 2025. As offensive coordinator for New Orleans last season, Klint Kubiak had a fullback on the field for 16 percent of the Saints’ snap, which ranked fourth in the NFL.
“It’s a good bit different,” Ouzts said when comparing his former position with his current one. “But I think Coach KP (running-backs coach Kennedy Polamalu) has done a really good job and just critiquing kind of one thing a day, just kind of helping me get better at one thing a day.
“And it was a little awkward at first, but once the pads came on, I kind of started to feel a little bit of my mojo again, and let’s take this thing by the horns.”
Ouzts said the shift from tight end to fullback meant a change in technique and pre-snap keys.
“I’d say just as a tight end, you kind of want to be more square with your body, have more of a base, kind of strike with your arms,” Ouzts said. “Fullback, you’re hitting on the run, so you really got to take that power foot, as KP says, kind of lower your shoulders and run through them.
“At tight end, you’re looking at the end, Sam (linebacker), strong safety. You’re not really watching if the three-tech plays out or across the guard’s face or whatever. So it’s a new perspective. And the more film I watch and kind of see these things play out, the more I look for it. Every rep that I get, the faster I pick up on it.”
Ouzts could get some reps against another team on Thursday, when the Seahawks kick off their three-game preseason schedule against the Las Vegas Raiders at 9 p.m. CDT at Lumen Field in Seattle. NFL Network will televise the game.
The Seahawks also are using Brady Jackson at fullback. In 2024, Jackson played 33 offensive snaps as a Seattle tight end. He also has been on the field for 542 special-team plays in his two seasons with the Seahawks.
Seattle’s first depth chart of the preseason lists Ouzts as the starter at fullback. At 6-foot-3 and 274 pounds, Ouzts said he’s “a great fit” for the position.
“I think I’m kind of built for it naturally,” Ouzts said, “so kind of once we iron a little bit of the technical stuff out, I think I’ll be perfect at it.
“It’s just like everything. The more practice you get, the better I’ll get at it.”
