RENTON, Wash. — Pete Carroll never fully appreciated what Lofa Tatupu brought to his defense at Southern California until Tatupu was on his way out of college and headed toward a pro career.

The Seattle Seahawks learned a similar lesson a year ago when Tatupu, their defensive captain and three-time Pro Bowl selection, missed 11 games with hamstring and pectoral injuries.

“He definitely adds a different element to the defense. he’s a leader and a veteran player that has been through it all. He brings his experience and wisdom to the field,” fellow Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne said. “Sometimes he’s like a coach out there. When things aren’t going well and we need a big play he’s reliable enough to put us in the right situation.”

Being called the elder statesman of Seattle’s defense might irk Tatupu, who will turn 28 in November. He’s the anchor of a talented linebacking corps that includes Hawthorne and Aaron Curry.

But his value to the Seahawks defense was never more evident than the final nine games of last season when Tatupu was recovering from his torn pectoral.

The Seahawks defense was thrashed for 281 points in those games when Tatupu was a spectator. Seattle went just 3-6 in its final nine games, part of the reason wholesale changes came about in the offseason.

“I did a lot of self-scouting, going back and watching tapes not just of myself but our defense,” Tatupu said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot in that year sitting out and (I’m) still trying to work the kinks out.”

Admittedly still not at the same comfort level he was during his Pro Bowl seasons, Tatupu is quickly working back into the form that made him one of the top young linebackers in the NFL just a few years ago. He’s already tied for the team lead in tackles through two games, even though Tatupu wondered Wednesday who was keeping stats in Denver last Sunday, believing he should have a few more stops.

“He adds more than most guys because he helps the people around him play well,” Carroll said. “It’s not just his play, it’s the way he communicates, it’s his savvy, it’s his ability to identify situations and take advantage of the coaching and the game planning and all of that. He’s just uniquely qualified and so we feel much more together when he’s out there just because of what he brings.”

Carroll’s history with Tatupu began at USC in 2002. Deciding he was better than then-Division I-AA Maine, where he played as a freshman, Tatupu transferred to USC with no guarantees. By the time he returned to the field in 2003 — after sitting out a season due to transfer rules — Tatupu was the starting middle linebacker.

From there he grew into an all-Pac-10 linebacker, another in a long string of standouts at that position produced by the Trojans in the last decade. In both his seasons as a starter, Tatupu led the Trojans in tackles and received every accolade possible.

Carroll acknowledges now that Tatupu’s development and time spent in the Trojans program growing into a second-round NFL pick kept him from understanding how good Tatupu was until he was about to leave.

“I didn’t recognize it early on because he kind of grew up through the program, until actually when we were evaluating when he was deciding to leave and I went back and looked at him to try to give him a good assessment of what I thought,” Carroll said. “When I started to notice all the unique things that he does and kind of the sense and savvy that he shows in making tackles and setting up blockers and feeling plays and things like that, that really separated from anybody that I coached in the last few years.”

Tatupu returned from injury as he was being reunited with Carroll and his college linebackers coach, Ken Norton Jr., who is holding the same position in Seattle. Norton still puts Tatupu on a pedestal as the example he wants others to follow.

“He’s a football junky. He just lives and breathes. You talk to him about stats and older players and the history of the game and what others are doing, he knows it all,” Norton said. “For a football player and a coach that’s kind of how you want them. He’s kind of like my model, ‘be like this guy.’ The younger players I want them around Lofa and understanding what he understands.”