Robbie Ouzts Acclimating to ‘Different World’ at New Position With Seahawks
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Seattle Seahawks fullback Robbie Ouzts warms up prior to the start of a rookie minicamp practice. Credit: Corbin Smith/Emerald City Spectrum [/caption]
RENTON, Wash. - Barking out instructions with a calm, yet stern demeanor as he has for more than two decades coaching in the NFL, Seattle Seahawks running back coach Kennedy Polamalu called his players over to the sideline, pointing to one of his new pupils as a volunteer for a pre-drill demonstration.
Standing out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of Seattle’s running backs in attendance for rookie minicamp, 6-3, 274-pound fifth-round pick Robbie Ouzts jogged to the goal line and followed directives, putting his left foot on the line while taking a knee in the end zone. The objective? Working at a borderline walkthrough pace, the backs would stick their left cleat in the turf before cutting straight down the sideline, simulating a “stick” route against man coverage.
Asked to run the first route, Ouzts slow-played his cut before moving down the line, plucking a reception from an assistant coach and rumbling upfield for a few steps, showing surprising nimbleness for a player of his size. Making the switch from tight end to fullback with his new team, he found himself well outside his comfort zone, but the newness is more than welcomed as he begins his NFL journey.
“It is a different world out there,” Ouzts smiled. “But shout out to coach [Kennedy] Polamalu getting me right. He's a fantastic coach. Love working with him.”
Since Michael Robinson last suited up for the Seahawks way back in 2013, the organization has pivoted in the same direction as most of the NFL, moving away from using a traditional fullback as part of their offensive attack. In the last 11 seasons, only once - converted defensive tackle Will Tukuafu in 2015 - has a fullback logged more than 200 offensive snaps or higher than a 15 percent snap share.
With new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak coming to town this spring, however, Seattle will be taking a blast to the past with the fullback returning as a key part of the offense. Running the Shahanan-style west coast offense, Kubiak uses extensive two-back personnel groupings compared to most modern NFL coordinators, including utilizing Adam Prentice for 30 percent of the Saints’ snaps last season.
In his introductory press conference in February, Kubiak made it clear the Seahawks would be bringing back the fullback for the first time in more than a decade, leading to the decision to invest a fifth-round pick in Ouzts, whose movement skills, physicality, and size made him an ideal fit to serve as a lead blocker for Kenneth Walker III, Zach Charbonnet, and company in his offense.
Playing tight end at Alabama, Ouzts spent most of his time on offense as a blocking specialist, logging 689 snaps lined up flanking a tackle on the line of scrimmage. But he did see limited playing time as an H-back with the Crimson Tide, including 39 snaps out of the backfield in 2023 and 15 last season, along with a handful of snaps running routes out of the slot and contributing on nearly every special teams unit.
Even with those snaps on his resume, Ouzts acknowledged after the draft that moving full-time to the fullback position would be new territory for him. At times during the two-day minicamp, certain drills exposed how foreign he was to the position more than others, especially ball carrying drills where he had to shuffle his feet over bags while staying low underneath a rolling chute.
And, as Ouzts pointed out after Saturday’s session, adjustments will not be limited to on-field work, as moving from an inline tight end to the backfield requires a “different perspective” leverage and angle-wise when it comes to executing as a lead blocker. While he’s confident his previous experiences will make the transition easier, there’s still a learning curve that goes into the mental aspect of his game just as much as the physical aspect.
“There's a lot, you know, coming from the tight end position, it's a lot of different leverage,” Ouzts explained. “So really changing my footwork up, kind of changing my attack angle on defenders and learning to make decisions on the go instead of letting the defender come to me. There's a lot there.”
On the flip side, Ouzts’ background as a tight end has already helped his cause as a receiver out of the backfield. Though he wasn’t a high volume target for a loaded Crimson Tide aerial attack, he did turn two of his eight receptions last season into touchdowns and averaged north of 13 yards per catch, showcasing some ability to create yardage with the ball in his hands.
Whether reeling in balls of the JUGS machine in warmups or snagging a pass in the flats from former Alabama teammate Jalen Milroe in 11-on-11 scrimmage time, Ouzts exhibited natural pass catching tools and soft hands throughout the minicamp. Once he had secured the throw, he turned upfield like a bulldozer, ready to run over someone if he had pads on.
While Prentice didn’t have any catches for the Saints last year, Kubiak has used fullbacks in the passing game in the past. In his lone season as play caller for the Vikings in 2021, C.J. Ham caught 17 passes for 125 yards, finishing seventh on the team in receptions for the season. Seeing the ball quite a bit during the rookie minicamp, even if that doesn’t translate into OTAs or training camp, Ouzts trusts his ability to make plays as a receiver when called upon and indicated that part of his new role has been easier to adjust to.
“It definitely helps,” Ouzts said. “Just being more of a natural at tracking the ball, turning, getting up field, lowering my shoulder because, you know, that can be a foreign to a lot of fullbacks.”
As is the case with any rookie, particularly a day three selection, Ouzts understands he won’t be given a starting job or even a roster spot and will have to earn his keep doing the dirty work in Kubiak’s offense along with making significant contributions on special teams. He will have game competition to beat out as well in the form of Brady Russell, a revered presence in the locker room who has been a top special teams player for the Seahawks when healthy and previously played a handful of snaps as a fullback in regular season games.
Previously making Seattle’s roster as an undrafted rookie, Russell won’t give up his new job without putting up a valiant fight as he makes his own switch from tight end to fullback, and Macdonald made sure to highlight that fact mere hours after Ouzts was selected. As quickly as an opportunity arises in the NFL, it can be taken away, and the Rock Hill, South Carolina native remains grateful for the chance granted to him, banking on the carryover from some of his skills at tight end serving him well battling for snaps with his new team out of the gate.
“Honestly, I’m just not taking the moment for granted. It really didn't hit me when I got the phone call on draft day, but going out on that field yesterday, it finally sunk in. So just taking it all in and just giving it everything I got and just trying to go 1 and 0 every rep.”
