Seahawks' top pick Lawrence Jackson is fond of Seattle

KIRKLAND — Lawrence Jackson loves Seattle. And not just because the Seahawks made the defensive end from USC their first-round pick on Saturday.

He really loves Seattle. He can't wait to walk around Pike Place Market. He told NFL coaches from other teams that his ideal spot would be — you guessed it — right here. He likes the rain, yet he's from Southern California. He wanted to live here even when he was in high school.

"That helped us as well," Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said.

Jackson's home base is Inglewood, Calif., about five minutes from The Forum, former home of the Los Angeles Lakers. His adopted hometown will be the Seattle area.

"This is the place that I wanted to be," Jackson said Monday at his first news conference as a Seahawk, where he was joined by second-round pick John Carlson, a tight end from Notre Dame, Ruskell and coach Mike Holmgren. "I've been telling people for months leading up to the draft, even years, that after football is over with, I'm going to go move to Seattle. So to be here is a blessing, to have this opportunity to play in the city."

Where does all this 206 love come from? Jackson attended former coach Rick Neuheisel's Huskies football camp at Washington while in high school, and liked what he saw of the city. That love grew when Jackson's Trojans played games against the Huskies in Seattle.

"Every time we passed by to play U-Dub, downtown Seattle just strikes my eye," Jackson said. "It has the allure of L.A. but it's not as fast-paced, which I like. It's a very safe city, and just being surrounded by water is a great thing."

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Jackson mentioned his dream of being in the NFL in the same sentence as wanting to be in Seattle. Over the years he would see the city in TV commercials and was further enchanted. He considered UW for football out of high school but went local because USC combined the best of what he was seeking in a college program.

"I had no idea what Seattle was like before that moment when I came," Jackson said, referring to the summer football camp. "It was obviously a little bit warmer. So I mean, driving across the bridge and seeing the lake and downtown and seeing the different adventures that they have, commercials and stuff like that, it just sold me. The fact that it rains but then it will be nice for a couple of days, that really sparked my interest as well."

Jackson is already blending in well with his new team. Upon arriving in town Sunday night, he met with former USC teammate (and neighbor) Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu. Tatupu promptly slapped his buddy with a rookie fine for not answering his cellphone when Tatupu called to welcome him.

"Hopefully he was just joking," Jackson said with a grin.

It seemed a natural, almost supernatural, fit between Jackson and the Seahawks. He and his family took a break from watching draft coverage Saturday to play the Rock Band video game, and for some inexplicable reason, around pick No. 23 or 24, the game shut off. Jackson's attention turned back to the draft, and minutes later he was chosen.

Only natural, then, that he mentioned Seattle's own guitar hero, Jimi Hendrix, when talking about it.

"It's so surreal, so exciting," Jackson said. "I'm a reserved kind of guy, so being in a nice city and then being able to go home to quietness, I think that's a great thing."

It won't be easy to do much sightseeing right away, as Jackson's next trip to Seattle is for the team's first minicamp of practices that start Friday. But come August and September, Jackson will be a much more permanent resident.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com