Of the countless routes, former Hawaii receiver John Ursua’s most challenging has been the holding pattern.
Ursua was set to report to the Seattle Seahawks on April 19, but the timetable is now on pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They said everything’s moved back, ” said Ursua, who was the Seahawks’ seventh-round choice in the 2019 NFL Draft after forgoing his senior season with the Rainbow Warriors. “The return date is no longer the 19th. I just have to stay ready. It’s all on us now. You have make sure you stay active.”
This offseason, Ursua has been staying at his girlfriend Tia Furata’s family’s house in Mililani.
“Luckily, the Furutas have plenty of weights in their house, ” Ursua said. “They have practically a whole gym here. I get to wake up, and my gym’s here. They have weights and they have their front yard.”
Ursua said he does weight training six days a week, and footwork and field drills four times each week.
“I pretty much maintained the same weight, ” said the 5-foot-10 Ursua, who is 185 pounds. “I’m trying to gain 5 or 7 more pounds. It’s been tough with all the restaurants closed. I can’t eat my meat jun and katsu.”
Ursua said Tia’s brother — former UH running back Dayton Furuta —often provides fresh fish.
“He goes and catches the fish, then brings it, and fries it that same day,” Ursua said.
As for Ursua’s culinary specialty, “I love putting Eggos in the toaster. That’s my all-time favorite. I’m good at that, and also putting some milk in some cereal.”
Ursua said the Seahawks’ “playbook” is expected to arrive today. It actually is a pre-loaded tablet with plays, videos and workout instructions.
“It has archives, all types of videos from way back in the day, depending on what you want to watch, ” Ursua said.
For now, Ursua trains and assists around the house. He said he helped paint and drill as part of a closet restoration.
“I’ve been trying to do some new things.”
