Seahawks Combine: LB Daiyan Henley Recounts 'Dope' Pete Carroll Interview
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Seattle Seahawks put together a strong draft class last year and have arrived at the NFL Scouting Combine with intent to replicate that success.
While most will be more intrigued by testing numbers like the 40-yard dash and vertical jump, perhaps the biggest part of the Combine is what's not quantifiable or even open to viewing - the interviews between teams and players.
So, who have Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider been talking with at the Combine?
The staff of Sports Illustrated's AllSeahawks.com is on hand in Indianapolis and has some insight.
Seattle held a formal interview with star Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley, a first-team All-PAC 12 player who began his career as a receiver at Nevada before making the transition to defense and later starring in Pullman.
Henley met directly with Carroll and staff and walked away with a positive impression of Seattle's 71-year-old coach.
"Dope guy," Henley said. "Very funny, charismatic."
The 6-2, 232-pound Henley earned second-team All-American honors as a linebacker and also made his mark on special teams, leading the Cougars with five tackles in the game's third phase and being named second-team All-PAC 12 for his work on coverage teams.
But the Seahawks didn't just stop with Henley ...
Michigan defensive end Mike Morris shared that Seattle is one of six teams he formally met with at the Combine.
Morris, who stands 6-6, 292 pounds, was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection after recording a team-high seven and a half sacks while adding 11 tackles for loss.
However, it wasn't always straightforward for Morris. After a dominant high school career that began with a 13-sack freshman season and closed with a 25-tackle-for-loss senior campaign, the Belle Glade, Florida native played in one total game his first two years at Michigan.
Given his first real opportunity as a junior, Morris flashed enough upside to step into a bigger role for his senior year and responded by being named Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year.
But for Morris, the lessons learned away from the gridiron aren't lost within his improvement as a football player.
"I learned that God doesn't always give you what you want when you need it, when you want it," Morris said. "That process was a learning process for me, a growth process. I could've easily left Michigan, went to a different school but I was compelled to stay and rough it out and figure it out on my own ...
"I was able to push through it."
Both Henley and Morris are seniors, and their maturity couldn't have been more evident - the question that now must be answered is whether they'll end up in Seattle and get to spend more time around the "dope, funny, charismatic" Carroll.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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