Offensive line shuffle marks 6th day of Seahawks training camp Undrafted rookie George Fant gets his shot to run with the first team

Seattle Seahawks' George Fant stretches at an NFL football practice Thursday, May 26, 2016, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Seattle Seahawks' George Fant stretches at an NFL football practice Thursday, May 26, 2016, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Photo: Elaine Thompson/AP Photo: Elaine Thompson/AP Image 1 of / 35 Caption Close Offensive line shuffle marks 6th day of Seahawks training camp 1 / 35 Back to Gallery

RENTON -- All offseason long, Seahawks coaches reiterated the importance of deciding upon the five starters on the offensive line as soon as possible in order to gel in time for the start of the regular season.

But after having the same five work with the first team for the first five training-camp practices at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, Seattle shuffled things around in a big way on Friday. J'Marcus Webb, who signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the team as a free agent in March and had handled nearly all the starters' snaps at right tackle, was relegated to second-and even third-string duties at times.

In his place, the team sometimes used youngsters like second-year pro Terry Poole and rookie Rees Odhiambo, but the most interesting combination came when they moved Garry Gilliam back to right tackle -- the position he started for every game in 2015 -- and elevated undrafted rookie George Fant to first-team left tackle.

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After practice, the 24-year-old Fant told reporters he didn't get any advance notice from offensive line/assistant head coach Tom Cable that he would be taking first-team snaps.

"(Cable) just wanted to look around and see what was going on," Fant said. "I didn't know really what was going on, but I'm not going to turn down a situation like that."

Fant spent much of Friday's practice alternating between the first-and second-team offense. And while it's still probably too early to pencil Fant onto the 53-man regular-season roster -- let alone the starting lineup -- the former basketball at Western Kentucky seems poised for a rapid rise on the gridiron. That's surprising given the fact that the first time he lines up against an opponent in the preseason will be the first time Fant has played a game on the offensive line.

Ever. In his life. Period.

But that's no big deal, Fant said, because he's been at this a couple of months now.

"They're treating me like I'm a regular rookie, like I've been playing football my whole life," Fant said. "Early I'm sure there were some things where they were like, 'He's still learning.' But now that I know those things they expect me to know it and they expect me to do it. I expect that from myself as well."

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 296-pounds (though he put himself around 305), Fant played the first organized football since the eighth grade last year at Western Kentucky after four years on the Hilltoppers' basketball team.

After considering offers to play professional basketball following his last season of hoops in 2014-15, Fant made the decision to try football for the first time since middle school. He spent time at tight end and defensive tackle during his lone college season, before beginning to train as an offensive lineman. After going undrafted in May, he signed with Seattle.

"I just felt like this was the best situation," Fant said on Friday. "Coach Cable, his resume speaks for itself. It was the right choice for me, and I'm happy to be here. I think it's a great situation for me."

Seattle's development of Gilliam, who moved from tight end to the offensive line ahead of his senior season at Penn State in 2013, was one of the reasons Fant chose the Seahawks. Since he arrived, Gilliam has become a sort of mentor.

"Garry's been great," Fant said. "Not a lot of people would do what he's doing for me. Day one when I came in, he was right there for me, right there helping me. Even now, if I do something (wrong), he'll pull me to the side and show me the correct way to do it."

The Seahawks surely want to settle on their starting five as soon as possible, but it seems like Webb's underwhelming start to training camp after missing much of the offseason with a calf strain has Seattle looking at other options. On Thursday, Cable called Webb "a guy that looks like he didn't do hardly anything in the spring."

Justin Britt continues to take first-team snaps at center, with rookie sixth-round pick Joey Hunt playing with the second team, ahead of veteran Patrick Lewis. Second-year pro Mark Glowinski and first-round pick Germain Ifedi seem to have a fairly solid hold on the left and right guard positions, respectively.

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