AP

Seattle Seahawks rookie Justin Forsett holds out a football during a drill at the first day of the team's training camp, Friday, July 25, 2008, in Kirkland, Wash.

KIRKLAND, Wash. - The Seahawks did everything they could in the offseason to overhaul a broken running game, including dumping a former league MVP.

Seattle signed former Falcons starter T.J. Duckett, then former Cowboys starter Julius Jones. Then the Seahawks released their fading all-time leading rusher, former MVP Shaun Alexander, and kept his backup, Maurice Morris. They also signed left guard Mike Wahle and added new assistant coach Mike Solari to try to solidify an offensive line that failed to create the running lanes for Alexander or anyone else the last two seasons.

Lost among all that: Justin Forsett.

Overlooked as usual.

The diminutive seventh-round draft pick from the University of California has been impressing the Seahawks since the spring and through the first two weeks of training camp. Suddenly, Seattle may have a 5-foot-8, 194-pound weapon it wasn't expecting.

"He's been impressive from day one," new running backs coach Kasey Dunn said Tuesday. "In our minicamps he was good, and then it was just a matter of him being able to hold up in pass protection."

He has. Despite his relative lack of size, Forsett is providing evidence he could be one of the better blocking backs on the team. Dunn said so, then amended that to say Forsett is a notch below starting fullback Leonard Weaver in blocking.

"A lot of people don't think I'll be able to do it because of my size, but I tell them all the time, 'Low pad wins,' " Forsett said. "There's not too many linebackers in the NFL my size, so I've got a little advantage on that point. I was prepared in college to block first and run second, so that's the kind of mentality I bring."

Teammates are noticing that Forsett's work ethic and drive are anything but small.

"At first, you do kind of question his size, but that kid has a big heart and that's all that matters in this league," Morris said.

Forsett, a first-team All-Pac 10 Conference selection as a senior at Cal, possesses catlike quickness and the ability to change directions instantly. Like Jones and Duckett, Forsett's receiving ability has also been a sorely needed addition to the Seahawks' passing game.

With Alexander contributing next to nothing in recent seasons, the production from Seattle's backs in the passing offense has declined far below what coach Mike Holmgren expects in his offense. Now here's Forsett.

"He catches everything," said Dunn, a former standout receiver at the University of Idaho.

The Seahawks are so intent on involving the backs in pass catching, they've often had Jones, Morris and Forsett lined up as wide receivers in some formations during practices.

Oh, yeah, Forsett can run, too. He led the team in rushing during last weekend's scrimmage with 51 yards on nine carries. His 33-yard run from one side of the field to the other awed the Qwest Field crowd and left teammates Nate Burleson, Bobby Engram among others jumping up and down on the sidelines.

"I like this field," Forsett said after the scrimmage. "I could get used to this."

Afterward, Holmgren joked that some hard hits later on Forsett were good for grounding the rookie.

"It's good for him, because he was the media darling over there. I saw," Holmgren said. "He loved that.

"I won't be able to coach him now. He won't listen to me anymore."

Forsett will have to beat long odds to continue playing at Qwest Field beyond the final roster cuts on Aug. 30.

Holmgren has already declared Jones and Morris as co-starters at halfback. Duckett is currently being groomed to carry the ball in short-yardage situations.

So Forsett could be left off the 53-man roster, destined for the practice squad -- though he could be signed on another team's active roster if he doesn't make Seattle's. Yet he remains upbeat about his place with the Seahawks, focused only on what he can control.

"I've been blessed to be in this situation," Forsett said. "I'm going to go out there and use my opportunities to my advantage, try to seize every moment I can and whatever happens, happens. I can't worry about the numbers."

Friday night's preseason opener at Minnesota will be the first of four game opportunities for Forsett before the final roster cuts. His performance in those games, against relative behemoths on NFL defenses, will decide whether Seahawks coaches act on their curiosity.

Notes:@ Injuries forced 19 players out of the Tuesday morning practice: P Ryan Plackemeier (chest), WR Michael Bumpus (hamstring), WR Logan Payne (ribs), SS Jordan Babineaux (knee), LB Eric Wicks (quad), LB Matt Castelo (knee), LB Wesly Mallard (hamstring), LB Will Herring (joint inflammation), C Chris Spencer (shoulder), DE Nu'u Tafisi (ankle), T Samuel Gutekunst (unspecified), T Floyd Womack (knee), DT Red Bryant (knee), WR Deion Branch (knee), TE Will Heller (hamstring), DT Marcus Tubbs (knee), DE Chris Cooper (leg), DT Larry Tripplett (knee) and DE Patrick Kerney (calf). Plackemeier said he will be back on the field punting for the first time this summer on Monday. ... The Seahawks plan their first practice at their new facility in Renton on Wednesday morning.