The offseason was no picnic for Kirk Morrison.He kept busy in the winter and springtime as he focused on football, going to Oakland Raider team headquarters in Alameda to look at hours and hours of film from the 2005 NFL season, to participate in OTAs (organized team activities) and minicamps, and to keep himself strong and fit.

Most importantly, he changed positions, moving from weakside outside linebacker — where he started the final 15 games and finished second for the Raiders in total tackles as a rookie last year — to middle linebacker in the team’s 4-3 base defense.

“It was something that they wanted to take a look at,” Morrison said Wednesday at the team’s training camp at Redwood Middle School. “I told them, ‘Hey, I’ll do that.’ I’ve been working at it for the last couple of months. They said, ‘We’re just going to try things out, but nothing’s etched in stone.’ Right now that’s where they have me penciled in. It’s worked out for the best.”

Head coach Art Shell, who has the Raiders practicing twice a day in preparation for the Aug. 6 Hall of Fame Game against Philadelphia in Canton, Ohio, first announced Morrison’s new position and role in a conference call with writers on July 20.

Shell, a Hall of Fame tackle, likes what he has seen from the former San Diego State two-time All-American after just three days of camp.

“Kirk’s doing well,” he said. “He’s running around out there, he’s making plays and is making it tough for the linemen to get to him.

“He’s calling the defense and doing a good job of getting guys in position.”

Shell has no reservations about putting a young player in such a high-profile position.

“Matt Millen did it when he first came here,” Shell said. “He started as a rookie and he made the adjustment right away.”

Morrison, a four-time All-Mountain West Conference selection, is actually experienced as an inside linebacker, having played there in Pop Warner, high school and college.

A third-round pick, Morrison excelled at San Diego State, twice earning MWC Defensive Player of the Year honors. He played in 47 games and ranked second on the school’s all-time tackle list with 396 stops.

He was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker.

“It’s a familiar site for me to be in the middle,” he said. “But I’m still out here trying to earn my spot. I don’t feel like there’s anything given to me.”

“We’re taking a look at the players and seeing where we’re going to end up,” said Shell. “There’s a long ways to go. Hopefully we’ll have the best football players on this football team when we open up the season.”

Morrison is all about trying to help the Raiders — who were a disappointing 4-12 — improve a defensive unit that ranked as the sixth-worst in the league last year.

“The Raiders can expect me to play hard, to know my position and help everyone out,” Morrison said. “I am always asking questions and always learning. We have been trying to learn our defense like we did in the OTAs, mini-camps and the off-season program. We had the chance then to watch film and see how you could be better.

“We are really excited, the guys are into it right now and we are having fun. I just want to go out there and make some big plays. I want to get some interceptions and cause some turnovers.” Morrison (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) had a very productive rookie year for Oakland, making 112 tackles, including 87 solo stops, and tallying 10 or more tackles in four games while leading or tying for the team lead in seven contests.

He also had two fumble recoveries and contributed on special teams with seven tackles on kickoff and punt coverage units.

Morrison, an Oakland native who attended Bishop O’Dowd High School, made his first NFL start Sept. 18 against Kansas City, registering seven solo stops and assisting on three other tackles.

He said the defense started to make positive strides toward the end of the year.

“When the season ended we said we can’t be how we were last year. I think guys took it upon themselves to go out and try to learn this defense a little bit more. I think everyone now is starting to grasp the defense. As you look it at, we’re young on defense, but the guys are understanding it and I think we’re going to be fine.

“Last year we lost a lot of football games and that’s just unacceptable. We have the mind-set that losing is unacceptable. There’s only one way to do it, and we’ve got to win. As the weeks go on I think it’s going to get a little testy. But I’ll tell you what, we can’t wait for that Aug. 6 date to get here.”

Raiders Camp Notebook

• The high fog that came in overnight made for cooler temperatures, but Thursday’s morning practice still ended 45 minutes early. “You’ve got to take care of your guys,” head coach Art Shell said. “They came out (Thursday) morning, they worked their tails off and they had fun.”

• In keeping with tradition, Shell had his team take part in the “Pit Drill” Thursday, a 1-on-1 blocking drill involving linemen, tight ends, linebackers, running backs, defensive backs and wide receivers.

Shell said the drill — which is always held on the third day of camp — started with former Raiders coach John Madden and continued with Tom Flores over the years. “Some people call it ‘Oklahoma.’ We’ve called it ‘Pit’ here for many years,” said Shell. “It’s going down in those pits and getting dirty.”

It turned into a lively and spirited drill, with most of the team looking on.

“It’s good because it’s competitive and guys are cheering for each other,” said Shell. “That’s one of the toughest drills there is in football, because the defense knows that you’re coming downhill at them, the offense knows that the defense is going to hunker down and make it tough for them to block.”

Shell said the “Pit Drill” is only held one day in camp.

“It’s always been that way. It’s all about having fun doing it. It was great. I enjoyed it. Without a doubt, you get a lot accomplished in that drill. There were a few guys that did some good things on both sides of the ball. Offensively and defensively, I thought they worked hard and worked well and had fun doing it.”

• Zack Crockett’s back tightened up on him, so he was held out of practice. “I want to watch his reps anyway,” said Shell. “It’s good for him to take some time off.”

• NFL officials arrived at camp Thursday and will be here through Saturday. “I told them anything you see, throw the flag, or walk up to the player and tell them what he’s doing wrong,” said Shell. “There’s only a couple of things this morning that were told to me by the officials.”