More youth than ever is being served in the Seahawks' secondary now that veteran LCB Marcus Trufant has been placed on injured reserve with a back injury similar to the one that forced him to miss the first six games in 2009. The onus now falls on Walter Thurmond, a player team sources tell us is considered to be more than up to the challenge. "The team thought Thurmond would have probably been a low-first, high-second-rounder had he not blown out a knee his last year at Oregon," one tream insider said of the team's fourth-round pick last season. "He started off on fire in training camp and was shaping up as the right corner opposite Trufant until he suffered a high ankle sprain, which gave Brandon Browner a leg up. The team will miss Trufant's leadership and experience, but the coaches say he will continue to serve as a valuable mentor to Thurmond in team meetings.