Seahawks fifth-round pick Alex Collins was challenged by his little sister to get into Irish dance, and at the time, the Arkansas running back thought to himself, 'Why not?'
"I thought why not, I have some time on my hands and I can give it a go," Collins said via conference call shortly after Seattle made him the No. 171 overall selection. "She got me in to it and I tried it out and I ended up really liking it."
Collins ended up liking it so much that he took on an Irish-dancing alter ego: Mitchell Findley.
"It originated from Michael Flatley, professional Irish dancer," he said. "When I got in to it, I wanted to watch the best and learn from him. I watched 'Lord of the Dance' on YouTube a few times, and kind of got it from there."
At this past weekend's rookie minicamp, it looked as though Pete Carroll had caught wind of his rookie running back's off-the-field talent.
As the first-year players were stretching inside Renton's Virginia Mason Athletic Center before Sunday's practice, the Seahawks head coach showed off his Irish dance moves in front of Collins, a jig Seattle Times photographer Bettina Hansen captured in one entertaining GIF:
Collins, who noted the hobby helps him with his football footwork, said a few of his new teammates have also inquired about what Collins said would be his dream job outside of the NFL.
"I'm trying to save my performance so everybody is there, get everybody to join," Collins said after Saturday's rookie minicamp practice. "Before it's over I will."
Collins joked he plans to get the media involved, too.
"I'll put a sign out sheet up," he said. "And hopefully some of you guys sign up and get you guys out there."
