Hanson familiar with Welker's route to NFL

EAGLES CORNER Joselio Hanson remembers when Wes Welker showed up at Texas Tech, taking a scholarship somebody else had turned down. Welker's 5-9 frame and lack of blazing speed made him a tough sell to recruiters, even though, as Hanson recalled this week, Welker was "all-everything" in Oklahoma.

"Nobody wanted him . . . He could punt, kick field goals, score touchdowns. I guess people overlooked him, just like they did all of us," Hanson said. And in fact, Welker once kicked a 58-yard field goal in high school in Oklahoma City.

Hanson, also 5-9, had to play 2 years in junior college to get a scholarship to Texas Tech. Now he's the Eagles' nickel corner, and should end up covering Welker quite a bit when the New England Patriots and the NFL's leading receiver (74 catches, 1,028 yards, six touchdowns) visit Lincoln Financial Field Sunday.

"He's a good guy, man," Hanson said of Welker, who entered the NFL in 2004, a year after Hanson first attended 49ers training camp as an undrafted rookie. Welker bounced from San Diego to Miami before becoming a star, then forced a trade to New England as a restricted free agent. Hanson was cut by the 49ers and played in Europe before making it with the Eagles in 2006. "I didn't really envision" NFL stardom for Welker, Hanson said, because "I figured he would get the bad end of the stick [in the draft], you know how they do with the small players, this and that. But he got with the right team, man, in the right spot. Kind of like me - I got with the right team, and I've just been able to stick around. You know how everybody in the NFL always wants the biggest, fastest guys."

Hanson said he texts Welker here and there, mostly after seeing a Patriots highlight.

"I remember when he ran back a punt [88 yards for a touchdown] against Texas A&M, it was my senior year [2002], actually. We were up there at College Station . . . High-scoring game, he put it out of reach . . . He always ran his routes as hard as he could, he was always going to block you as hard as he could on running plays, and even if he knows he's probably not going to get the ball on a pass play, he's still going to run his route full speed."

Hanson was asked how he plans to try to cover Welker.

"You try to play with your leverage, make him beat you away from your leverage," Hanson said. "Try to be as tight on him as possible, try to make [Tom] Brady throw into tight coverages."

Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo talked about the Hanson-Welker matchup yesterday.

"I think both of them, they both have a lot of heart. Jose, he came up and told us his story. He was an undrafted free agent, got cut and all those kinds of things," Castillo said. "Wes Welker has heart, too, so it's going to be a great challenge for Jose."

Hanson's play in the slot had a lot to do with beating the Giants Sunday night.

"He's very experienced, he's quick, he's smart, he's tough," Castillo said. "He's all those things, a great competitor. He's always been an underdog, so you know the way he works. He has a chip on his shoulder."

Arrington's origins

Fun fact: Kyle Arrington, the New England cornerback who leads the NFL with seven interceptions, began his pro career as an Eagles rookie free agent out of Hofstra in training camp 2008. Arrington was cut at the end of the preseason and signed to the practice squad, but on Sept. 9 that year, the Birds decided they liked another corner named Jonathan Hefney better. They added him to the practice squad and released Arrington, who caught on with Tampa Bay's practice squad. The next year he made his way to New England, where in 2010 he became a starter.

Obviously, the Eagles aren't exactly short on corners these days, but just as obviously, they sure could have used another serviceable one, say, last season.

Eagles coach Andy Reid this week recalled Arrington as "a good worker, talented." Reid added that he wasn't surprised Arrington made it. "He just needed to make an adjustment to the NFL, and that's what he's done."

Oh, and Jonathan Hefney now plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Birdseed

Marty Mornhinweg said his son, St. Joe's Prep QB Skyler Mornhinweg, will wait to see how the coaching situation unfolds at Penn State before deciding whether to change his mind about playing there . . . Mornhinweg said Vince Young "has worked his tail off" to learn the West Coast offense . . . Michael Vick (ribs) and Jeremy Maclin (hamstring, shoulder) did not practice yesterday. DeSean Jackson (foot) was limited . . . King Dunlap (concussion) did not practice, still has not passed testing . . . Special-teams coordinator Bobby April, asked about his group's strong improvement from last season in coverage, said the key guys "are just better pros" than they were a year ago.

For more Eagles coverage and opinion, read the Daily News' Eagles blog, Eagletarian, at www.eagletarian.com.