‘Blessed’ With Opportunity, Gavin Heslop Emerges as Contender in Seattle Seahawks’ Cornerback Competition

RENTON, WA – Gavin Heslop, who rose from the FCS level where he played for Stony Brook and received the NFL’s All-CAA awards, faced a seemingly impossible task last season trying to finish a 53rd Man squad to set up.

Like most undrafted rookies entering the league during an unprecedented season amid a pandemic, Heslop at Seahawks training camp – if there actually was – would be thrown to the Wolves without the benefits of a traditional offseason program. Thanks to COVID-19, OTAs and minicamps have been canceled, postponed before they were finally canceled.

To make things even more difficult for undrafted players like Heslop, the NFL also decided to cut preseason games to avoid unnecessary travel and limit the likelihood of the virus spreading, creating a critical showcase for player evaluation by coaches across the board League was eliminated.

Due to an injury early in the camp, Heslop was forced to focus on the mental aspect of the game. Since he was deprived of priceless repetitions in the spring, all he could do was watch from the sidelines with a mask and take in everything to watch veterans like Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers refine their craft.

“The biggest challenge for me was adapting to the speed and being able to swim to learn a playbook,” said Heslop when asked about the difficulties preparing for his rookie season. “I had to adjust very quickly, especially without the OTAs and stuff from last year, so I had to learn all of these stuff on the fly during camp.”

Although Heslop had recovered from his injury, Seattle was slated to cut him in early September when the team reduced their squad from 80 to 53 players for the regular season. But even after he missed most of the camp, the team felt he had enough promise to re-sign him as a member of the training team.

With a good size (6 feet, 190 pounds), length (32 inch arms), and a high soccer IQ, Heslop checked out several key boxes that the Seahawks are looking for in the cornerback position. Despite having no interception at college level, he had proven himself to be a skilled tackler with high quality ball skills at Stony Brook, ending his career with 196 combined tackles, 30 passes, and four forced fumbles.

Given his size and soccer skills, it’s no surprise that coach Pete Carroll wanted to keep Heslop on the Seattle program and see how he developed. He spent the entire season on the training team, was named to the active squad, and dressed for a single game against Miami in Week 4 without playing Snaps.

Satisfied with Heslop’s progress, the Seahawks signed him again on a futures / reserve deal in January. With the return of OTAs and minicamps, he continued to rely on his seasoned teammates, soaking up whatever knowledge he could soak up like a sponge in order to fully master the team’s defensive scheme.

“It’s like day and night. I know every call, I know where to be, so all I have to do is go out and play games and play fast, “smiled Heslop.

During the training camp, Heslop did just that and took every chance he got in a highly competitive position group. He fought his way off in the left outer corner as well as in the slot and in special teams, got his hands on several passes during scrimmages and confirmed his skills as a tackler and found his way into the backcourt for running stops like the one he made in practice on Wednesday to smother a jet sweep.

This type of play carried over to the Las Vegas preseason opener as Heslop appeared as the rare ray of hope for a Seattle second division that suffered a 20-7 loss for most of the evening. While giving up four receptions on six discs, he made an excellent game of avoiding pass interference, which covered Raiders receiver Marcell Ateman in an oblique pattern, and reached out his right arm to break the pass. He also flashed as a run defender, wrapping BJ Emmons behind the line of scrimmage for a tackle for the loss.

Heslop loved his first NFL game action and was thrilled to have the fans back in the stands, calling the opportunity a “dream come true”.

“[The fans were] definitely an upside, just the energy and excitement that things are going back to normal, ”noted Heslop. “I just have to be grateful, I’m grateful to my teammates. They have been very supportive of us, just being able to choose anyone’s brain and having the time to just build and learn and allow me to reproduce it. “

When asked which teammates have given him the most pointers during his NFL trip to date, Heslop didn’t name a specific player. As confirmed by other cornerbacks like DJ Reed and Ahkello Witherspoon earlier at camp, despite being rooted in intense competition, they are all pushing to help each other and get the best out of everyone.

“I can’t even single out anyone,” said Heslop. “Because I’ve come to everyone for points and tips, everything I need to become a better player. I go to everyone and everyone welcomes me with open arms. I’m so happy that everyone in the room is mine helped.” “

Benefiting from the lessons shared in a tight cornerback group, Heslop has also reaped the fruits of coaching former Seahawks defender Deshawn Shead, who joined the coaching staff as a defensive assistant prior to this season.

Shead followed a similar path from FCS competition to the NFL, signing with the Portland State Seahawks in 2012 as an undrafted free agent. Like Heslop, he was abandoned during the final squad cuts and spent his entire first season on the training team, not seeing a single snap in a regular season game. A year later, he played in the team’s 43-8 Super Bowl XLVIII win over the Broncos and eventually became a cornerback starter in 2016.

As Shead serves as evidence that a seemingly unlikely path from a smaller college program to the NFL can be successfully tackled, Heslop is grateful to have such an invaluable resource and hopes that he can follow in his footsteps by himself a spot on the 53-man roster sometime in its second season.

“It was great. He doesn’t even know, I played with him in Madden, ”laughed Heslop. “I just know he’s a rough guy and now he’s my trainer and I can choose his brain. Every question I have for him he has answered. He doesn’t hesitate to help me with anything I need.” he gave me great to be around. “

Given the depth of Seattle at the cornerback, Heslop continues to face a steep climb to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Up to this point he has mainly worked with the defensive groups of the second and third teams as well as several special teams during the camp and has still to make up ground in the next two weeks.

But just as he would try to stick to a receiver, Heslop won’t let himself be shaken by the seriousness of the situation. As Carroll famously says, he was offered a “championship opportunity” on an individual level. If he can build on a stellar performance in the last two preseason games in Las Vegas and finish camp with a strong finish, he could emerge as this year’s Penny Hart and be a surprising addition to the Seahawks Week 1 roster.

“I try not to put myself under pressure and I just take a day after day and let God lead and direct me where I need to be. Just leave everything in God’s hands and just see what happens afterwards.” The preseason is over. I’m just extremely blessed and grateful to be able to play this game. There aren’t many people in the world who have this opportunity, but I’m here. I’m one of them, so I’m grateful. “