Latest news with #Zabel
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Grey Zabel threw first pitch at the Mariners game on Friday night
Part of the fun of being a first round draft pick is being paraded around as a local celebrity during the summer. Such is the case for offensive guard Grey Zabel, who was selected by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 18 overall in the 2025 NFL draft. Zabel has gone from the great plains of Fargo, ND to the Emerald City of Seattle. Safe to say his life has changed considerably in these last several weeks, as Zabel will be experiencing plenty of "firsts" in his blossoming NFL career. Next up on his "firsts" is probably throwing out the first pitch at an MLB game, which he did on Friday night. The Seattle Mariners opened the first of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, and the man they picked to ceremoniously kick things off (so to speak) was Grey Zabel, who threw out the first pitch. Things continued well for the Mariners after Zabel's opening pitch. Star catcher Cal Raleigh opened things up with a three-run homer in the first inning, which was followed by Randy Arozarena smashing a solo-shot 377 feet to make it a 4-0 to start. The Twins eventually cut the lead to 4-3, but Raleigh struck once again with his second dinger of the night... a 380-foot blast in the eighth to make it a 6-3 ballgame. Advertisement Unfortunately, that's where the good vibes for the M's ended. Seattle's All-Star closer, Andrés Muñoz, laid an uncharacteristic egg in the ninth. Up to this point, Muñoz had not surrendered an earned run all season long, gave up three to make it a 6-6 game. Painfully, the tying-run was scored with two outs for Minnesota. From there, the meltdown was on. Seattle's relief pitcher, Casey Legumina, gave up six runs in the top of the 10th inning and the Mariners would go on to lose 12-6. This was the second-straight game for Seattle giving up six or more runs in the tenth inning. Over the last two games, the Mariners have allowed opponents to score 16 runs in the ninth and tenth innings. Yikes. Seattle has lost seven of their last ten games, and ss a result, the Mariners have been knocked from their perch atop the AL West This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks OG Grey Zabel threw the first pitch at Mariners vs Twins game
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Grey Zabel threw first pitch at the Mariners game on Friday night
Grey Zabel threw first pitch at the Mariners game on Friday night Part of the fun of being a first round draft pick is being paraded around as a local celebrity during the summer. Such is the case for offensive guard Grey Zabel, who was selected by the Seattle Seahawks at No. 18 overall in the 2025 NFL draft. Zabel has gone from the great plains of Fargo, ND to the Emerald City of Seattle. Safe to say his life has changed considerably in these last several weeks, as Zabel will be experiencing plenty of "firsts" in his blossoming NFL career. Next up on his "firsts" is probably throwing out the first pitch at an MLB game, which he did on Friday night. The Seattle Mariners opened the first of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, and the man they picked to ceremoniously kick things off (so to speak) was Grey Zabel, who threw out the first pitch. Things continued well for the Mariners after Zabel's opening pitch. Star catcher Cal Raleigh opened things up with a three-run homer in the first inning, which was followed by Randy Arozarena smashing a solo-shot 377 feet to make it a 4-0 to start. The Twins eventually cut the lead to 4-3, but Raleigh struck once again with his second dinger of the night... a 380-foot blast in the eighth to make it a 6-3 ballgame. Unfortunately, that's where the good vibes for the M's ended. Seattle's All-Star closer, Andrés Muñoz, laid an uncharacteristic egg in the ninth. Up to this point, Muñoz had not surrendered an earned run all season long, gave up three to make it a 6-6 game. Painfully, the tying-run was scored with two outs for Minnesota. From there, the meltdown was on. Seattle's relief pitcher, Casey Legumina, gave up six runs in the top of the 10th inning and the Mariners would go on to lose 12-6. This was the second-straight game for Seattle giving up six or more runs in the tenth inning. Over the last two games, the Mariners have allowed opponents to score 16 runs in the ninth and tenth innings. Yikes. Seattle has lost seven of their last ten games, and ss a result, the Mariners have been knocked from their perch atop the AL West
USA Today
05-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Could This Rookie Minicamp Tryout OL Be A Missing Link For Seahawks?
Could This Rookie Minicamp Tryout OL Be A Missing Link For Seahawks? Although John Schneider is one of the most well-respected GMs around the NFL, the main caveat of his often stellar draft performances has been the lack of successful offensive linemen. In recent years, the Seahawks have struggled mightily to find a steady group of offensive lineman that work well as a unit. They got the bookend tackles figured out in the 2022 Draft, securing a foundation of Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas that are young and effective when healthy. However, the interior has been tougher to address long-term. They drafted Anthony Bradford, a project guard with elite size and ferocity in the 4th Round of the 2023 Draft, and Christian Haynes, a seemingly well-rounded early-starter at guard in the 3rd Round of the 2024 Draft. Bradford has been injured numerous times, and hasn't moved well enough at his size to pass protect at a starter caliber level, making him a more dependable depth option. Haynes struggled to beat out UDFA Sataoa Laumea, leading Seattle to pick two more Guard prospects in the final two rounds of the 2025 Draft in Bryce Cabeldue and Mason Richman. While they'll certainly make it to the preseason, it's interesting to see the Seahawks bring in Montana State OG Marcus Wehr for a tryout. He stood out at the East-West Shrine Bowl, gaining steam as a late-round guard value as he held up against top DL prospects in 1-on-1s- similar to Seattle's 1st Round Pick Grey Zabel at the Senior Bowl. Wehr still went undrafted, but bears similarities to Zabel that could allow him to rise similarly in camp. For starters, they're both two-time FCS All-Americans, who played tackle in college, but are expected to kick inside to guard. They posted the 1st- and 2nd- ranked PFF Grades among all FCS offensive linemen who played at least 80% of their team's offensive snaps, with Zabel slightly edging Wehr out 90.4 to 89.2. They each anchored an offense who made the FCS National Championship, in which North Dakota State beat Montana State 35-32. But most of all, Zabel and Wehr are 1-on-1 warriors. While Cabeldue and Richman were drafted on athletic testing and profiles, Wehr and Zabel truly have the mean streak that you can't teach. Even though Rookie Minicamp doesn't display OL hitting in pads, Wehr has a shot to stick around until that point in Training Camp and make the OL depth decisions hard come preseason.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson got Grey Zabel to needy Seahawks O-line and into his 76
No doubt whose legacy Grey Zabel is stepping into with the Seahawks. The legend he's following is all for it. He made it happen, even. General manager John Schneider formally introduced Zabel to Seattle and the NFL Thursday. Seven days earlier, the Seahawks made Zabel the 18th pick of this year's draft. The rookie from North Dakota State is the highest-selected interior offensive lineman drafted by the Seahawks since 2001. That was the year they chose Steve Hutchinson. Hutchinson became an instant starter, then started on Seattle's first Super Bowl team in the 2005 season. He became a five-time All-Pro -- and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Thursday, Schneider and Zabel stood side by side in the main auditorium of team headquarters. The GM held up Zabel's new jersey and number to be the team's new left guard. It's 76. Hutchinson's number while becoming a Seahawks immortal. From his first days, months and games in the NFL, Zabel's going to be playing Hutchinson's position, while wearing his number. 'I'm super-grateful for him,' Zabel said. Already, four months before his first NFL game, he's got a ton to be thankful for about Hutchinson. Wearing Hutchinson's number is largely because of Erik Kennedy. 'EK,' as he's known around the team, is an institution with the Seahawks. Their director of equipment has been with the team for 36 years. Kennedy has remained close with the 47-year-old Hutchinson, including after the Hall of Famer left Seattle to sign with the Minnesota Vikings in the spring of 2006. It was Kennedy's idea to assign number 76 to Zabel. 'Pretty cool,' Schneider said. Zabel's been linked with the Hall of Famer since January. That's when Hutchinson met with Zabel for the first time, at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Hutchinson did that in his role as a consultant for Schneider and the Seahawks' personnel staff, particularly on offensive linemen. Hutchinson was impressed by Zabel's dominant play at tackle and some guard on a national championship-caliber line at North Dakota State of the Football Championship Subdivision. So were Seahawks vice president for player personnel Trent Kirchner and Kirk Parrish, the team's senior college scouting coordinator. Hutchinson, Schneider, Kirchner, Parrish and coach Mike Macdonald were on the field at the Senior Bowl. They were wowed at Zabel playing center, guard AND tackle in drills that week in Mobile. 'Funny story, Hutch and Trent right when we got down there, they were talking about a different player, and they were like 'This guy's really struggling with his confidence.' I thought they were talking about Grey,' Schneider said Thursday. 'I'm watching the practice and I'm like 'This guy's not struggling at all! You guys are crazy!' 'He literally couldn't wait. He was taking reps at center, left guard, right guard. He was taking reps from people.' Zabel was so eager to show NFL scouts, and Hutchinson, he jumped into every rep. He cut in front of teammates at multiple spots in drills. He manhandled defensive players from the higher, Power-5 programs. Macdonald said he didn't see Zabel lose a pass-rush rep all that week. 'Being there first hand at the Senior Bowl and watching him steal reps from people,' Schneider said nearly four months later, 'we were standing there like 'Woah, this guy!' 'Like he said, chip on his shoulder and ready to let it rip. He was into it. He was competing his tail off, and it was really impressive to see first-hand when you're right there.' Hutchinson wanted to see and know more. So he met with Zabel again a month later, at the league's annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. Hutchinson came away from the Senior Bowl and combine convinced Zabel was the best interior lineman in this draft class. So did Seahawks vice president for player personnel Trent Kirchner and Kirk Parrish, the team's senior college scouting coordinator. Since guard and center are Seattle's positions with the most pressing needs, Hutchinson backed Kirchner and Parrish in recommending Schneider and Macdonald draft Zabel. Schneider, Macdonald and their staffs formed a top four of interior linemen they wanted in this draft. Zabel was the clear number one. They weren't about to defy the instincts and knowledge of their in-house, Hall-of-Fame guard. Last week, they didn't. They made Zabel the first player from a lower college division the Seahawks drafted in round one since 1999 (Lamar King, from Division-II Saginaw Valley State). Five days later, Zabel still couldn't believe it. The News Tribune asked the mustachioed 23-year-old from Pierre, South Dakota, when it first became real to him that he could actually get drafted into the NFL. 'Probably Thursday night when I got that call from a Washington area code,' he said, without hint of a smile. 'That's when it kind of became real. 'A surreal moment that this was going to be a possibility.' He used 'surreal' three times in his first five minutes of talking about the Seahawks drafting him. And about Hutchinson being the reason why. In the week since the Seahawks drafted Zabel, Hutchinson has gone from evaluator to mentor for the rookie half his age. They are so tight, the rookie already calls the legend by his nickname. 'Yeah, 'Hutch' has been awesome throughout this experience,' Zabel said. 'He interviewed me down at the Senior Bowl, and he interviewed me at the combine. He's been a real mentor this past week. 'And being able to ask him all the questions that a rookie or a new guy has has been unbelievable. I'm super grateful for him.' There is a decent chance the Seahawks will have teammates from the 2023 North Dakota State Bison starting side by side on their remade line within their remodeled offense in 2025. Coaches and GMs rarely go on about a second-year undrafted free agent at the length Macdonald and Schneider have talked this offseason about Jalen Sundell. Sundell was Zabel's do-it-all teammate at NDSU, until the Seahawks signed Sundell as a rookie free agent in July of 2024. After only a month with the team, Sundell was one of two undrafted rookies to make Seattle's team out of training camp last summer (the other was kick returner Dee Williams, who was waived late in the season, after fumbling). Sundell was a center in preseason games last summer. He was also a backup guard, tackle and center in an offensive line system of since-fired coach Scott Huff that was a mix of schemes. The 2024 Seahawks O-linemen pulled. They trap blocked. They man blocked. They did some inside zone. They were jacks of most trades, masters of none. The Seahawks' running game went mostly nowhere: 28th in the NFL in rushing yards per game, 29th in rushing attempts. Huff and one-year college offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb are gone. In are veteran NFL offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, 1990s Super Bowl-champion line coach and former coordinator Rick Dennison and 20-year NFL line coach John Benton. Their system is clear and singular: Wide, outside-zone blocking. Macdonald and Schneider keep talking how this change to a system that demands lateral quickness off the ball and athleticism in getting to zones in run blocking instead of taking on and driving back the man nearest him fits Sundell far better than last year's scheme. It's why Zabel is on this team, too. Seahawks coaches believe Sundell could fit well in this new scheme at center. Expect him to challenge Olu Oluwatimi for the starting job in training camp this summer. Oluwatimi was Seattle's second-day draft pick in 2023. He started the latter half of the 2024 because veteran Connor Williams abruptly retired last October. Though he won't have him next to him in rookie minicamp Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend, Zabel is thankful he will have one of his best friends to show him around Seattle and the Seahawks' offensive line his rookie season. 'I think Jalen's a master of his craft,' Zabel said. 'I was fortunate enough to room with him (at NDSU). He was kind of a big brother to me throughout college. 'What an awesome deal that I was able to join him here at the Seahawks. He's taught me a lot of life lessons. And (I'm) super excited to hopefully learn some more from him here.' What were some of those life lessons Sundell taught him? 'How to clean up after yourself,' Zabel said, with a grin under that mustache. 'Probably how to do laundry. 'He's one of my good buddies, for sure.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Seahawks recruit Grey Zabel talks rookie season
When the Seahawks' newest offensive lineman makes a big block, he likes to let it be known. 'Offensive line, you can't score, you can't catch a pass, you can't do any of that. So, when you block a guy extremely well, sometimes you got to let them know,' Grey Zabel said during his introductory press conference Thursday. 'That's the fun and joy of playing offensive line.' Advertisement 72 rookies will take the field at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Friday, including Zabel, one of the largest among them at 6′6″ and 212 pounds. Seahawks brass and fans alike hope his impact on a line that struggled last year can be just as large. 'He's competing his tail off and it was really impressive to see firsthand when you're right there,' Seahawks General Manager John Schneider said of Zabel at the Senior Bowl. 'He was taking reps at center, left guard, right guard, he was taking reps from [other] people. I think just seeing that competitor and the want to. It's like he said, the chip on a shoulder, ready to let it rip,' Schneider continued. After the last season, even fans knew help was needed for Seattle's front five. Advertisement 'When you think of old-time Seattle, we used to have Steve Hutchinson, the legendary offensive line that we had. We haven't seen that yet coming into the years now, so I think that was a smart move,' said Stuart Jennings, a Seahawks fan. Hutchinson was one of the Seattle personnel to talk with and evaluate Zabel. The comparison won't be hard for fans to visualize next season—Zabel asked Hutch to wear his former number 76, at the suggestion of the equipment squad. 'He was all for it,' Zabel said, 'There's no better number to wear in Seattle history.' In the short time since Zabel was picked, the anchor for offensive lines of the Seahawks' past has been a mentor for the hopeful anchor of the Seahawks' future. Advertisement 'Being able to ask him all the questions that a rookie or new guy has, it has been unbelievable, and I'm super grateful for him,' Zabel said. In the lead-up to drafts, mock drafts from analysts and bloggers typically lean towards more highlight-catching selections — the wide receivers, the running backs, the quarterbacks. But not for the 12s. Jennings isn't alone in his desire for more beef up front, and Zabel says he's felt the response from the fanbase. 'The 12s are getting behind me, having my back, and I'm super excited for this fall. To wear the Seahawks logo on your chest has been somewhat of a dream so I'm super excited. Anytime you get to tie up the cleats and get on the grass, you have to be grateful,' added Zabel.
