Seahawks special teamers hope to make lasting impact in preseason

Seattle Seahawks' Brandon Williams, right, and Taani Tupou run through a drill during the team's NFL football training camp Saturday, July 30, 2016, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Seattle Seahawks' Brandon Williams, right, and Taani Tupou run through a drill during the team's NFL football training camp Saturday, July 30, 2016, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Photo: Elaine Thompson/AP Photo: Elaine Thompson/AP Image 1 of / 162 Caption Close Seahawks special teamers hope to make lasting impact in preseason 1 / 162 Back to Gallery

RENTON -- The line between borderline Hall of Famer and just another training-camp casualty is thinner than you think. Maybe just a couple of plays. Maybe just one play.

Just ask Terrell Davis.

The former Denver running back, who rushed for 6,413 yards and 71 touchdowns in an astounding four-year stretch to start his career, entered his rookie training camp as a roster longshot after being selected in the sixth round of the 1995 draft.

Buried on the depth chart at running back, Davis seemed destined for a slow start to his NFL career (if there was to be an NFL career at all) until a play in his first preseason game completely changed his trajectory. And though Davis would go on to earn three first-team All-Pro selections with his smooth, gliding rushing style, it's wasn't a run that got him noticed.

It was a hit. In Japan, of all places.

Playing on Denver's kickoff coverage unit when the Broncos took on the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 6, 1995, in the third quarter of the now-defunct American Bowl in Tokyo -- and just days after contemplating quitting football altogether -- Davis broke through blockers to uncork a brutal hit on Niners returner Tyronne Drakeford.

The rest is history. Davis' hit earned him some extra looks on offense and he was eventually elevated into a starting role on the Broncos offense, helping Denver to back-to-back Super Bowl titles after the 1997 and 1998 seasons, winning the league's MVP award after the latter.

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On Saturday, when the Seattle Seahawks kick off their 2016 preseason schedule with an afternoon date against the Kansas City Chiefs, several young players with seemingly farfetched dreams of NFL stardom will attempt to make a name for themselves on special teams.

The opportunities will be limited.

"They might only get a couple plays to show who they are," special teams coordinator Brian Schneider said this week as the team prepared for its first preseason opponent. "You just don't know how many opportunities you're going to get. In actuality you can make a team on just a couple plays on special teams if you make the most of your opportunities."

"This is where guys really can jump out," head coach Pete Carroll said on Friday. "So many guys over the years ... have made their way by what they did in preseason special-teams situations. So it's out there for them. They're going to get an opportunity. We hope that they'll come through and do some good things."

For players like undrafted safety Tyvis Powell, who started 33 games on defense in three years with a powerhouse Ohio State program, making a splash in the kicking game represents the best — if not only -- chance to make the Seahawks' 53-man roster. With veterans like Kam Chancellor, Kelcie McCray and Brandon Browner ahead of him on the defensive depth chart, the 22-year-old knows he won't get a lot of defensive snaps in the preseason, particularly as the regular season draws closer. That's why Powell called his special-teams performance "a life-and-death situation for me."

"It's everything to me, the special teams aspect of it," Powell said. "Talking to the vets, they say that's like the number one way to make the team. So when I get out there on special teams, I'm taking that more seriously than defense. It's sad to say that, but it's going to be the truth."

That's also true for middle linebacker Steve Longa, who didn't play on more than a couple of special teams units while starring in college at Rutgers, but now has to put in just as much effort in learning special teams technique as he does trying to process the Seattle defense.

"For people like me -- undrafted rookie free agents -- where to make our mark is on special teams," Longa said. "As much as I want to learn the defense, I've got to put just as much in on special teams."

Under Carroll and Schneider, who came to Seattle with Carroll from USC in 2010, the Seahawks have a rich history of rewarding players who first make an impact in the kicking game. Players like cornerback Richard Sherman, wide receiver Doug Baldwin and Chancellor each took the field on special teams before earning larger roles on offense or defense. And while most of the team's stars still play on at least one special-teams unit — including Sherman on punt return and Chancellor on kickoff coverage -- the team is always on the lookout for six to seven core special teams players who can play on all four units: kickoff, kick return, punt coverage and punt return.

"You try to make it as important as offense and defense, and that's what we do a really good job (of)," Schneider said. "Pete does a great job of selling that, because that's really the way to make the team."

Once they make the team, those core players sometimes develop into full-time starters.

Defensive back DeShawn Shead became a core special teamer in 2014 after originally signing with Seattle as an undrafted free agent out of Portland State in 2012. Last year, he registered his first career interception along with eight passes defended while starting six games on defense. This year, he projects to be a de facto starter at cornerback.

Shead said playing on special teams in the preseason gives young players a chance to show coaches their competitiveness -- even if their technique isn't perfect.

"Special teams is all about effort," Shead said. "We preach effort. We teach effort. Just going out there, running full speed and knowing your job. If you make a mistake, make a mistake at 100 percent."

Standouts like Sherman, Chancellor, Baldwin and quarterback Russell Wilson don't figure to play more than a series or two on Saturday, and it's likely that television viewership of the game will drop off as recognizable players take a seat on the sidelines.

But if you're hoping to see the emergence of the next Seahawks superstar, or even just a new fan favorite, don't take too long refilling your plate or grabbing another drink. The plays that might actually have a more lasting impact -- like Davis' hit in Tokyo -- might come later in the game.

Because it sometimes takes just one play to jumpstart a career.

Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle Seahawks news. Contact sports reporter Stephen Cohen at stephencohen@seattlepi.com or @scohenPI.