SEATTLE — John Ursua has officially made the cut, and the next time fans see the Kona-native it will be on Sundays with the Seattle Seahawks.
Ursua survived cut day on Saturday, as teams around the NFL trimmed their rosters to 53 players from 90. Ursua is set to have a big role with the team, sitting behind Tyler Lockett and second round pick D.K. Metcalf on the depth chart. Fellow wide receiver Jaron Brown was a surprise cut by the team, which had to make cap room after trading for former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney from the Texans.
Ursua had decided to relinquish his senior season at UH to apply for the 2019 NFL Draft. The Seahawks traded a 2020 pick for the seventh-round spot used to select Ursua this year.
Ursua was used in the slot, where he played for the Rainbow Warriors, and wideout in the Seahawks’ preseason games. “I try not to be one-dimensional,” Ursua said. “I want to do it all.”
Ursua grew up on the Big Island before moving to Utah for the start of his sophomore year of high school. He played his freshman year at Kealakehe, helping the Waveriders to a BIIF title. He attended three high schools in Utah, including two as a senior, before working for a year and then going on a two-year church mission in Paris.
“I’m extremely blessed,” Ursua told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser of making an NFL roster. “It’s a huge accomplishment for me. I have this opportunity they’re giving me, this chance to prove myself. I was a later draft pick. You’re always on the bubble when you’re a later pick. To have this opportunity is super cool.”
Ursua is not the first Big Islander to play for the Seahawks. HPA graduate Max Unger was a key piece for Seattle during the Seahawks consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XLVIII. He was later traded to the Saints.
Tani Tupou never played football on the Big Island, but graduated from Kealakehe and played for the Seahawks in 2016.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser contributed to this report