RENTON, Wash. — Rookie linebacker Aaron Curry used to sit mesmerized by old highlights of Chicago Bears star Mike Singletary while growing up in Fayetteville, N.C.

He finally met the 49ers coach last winter, at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

“Yeah, it was cool to see him at the combine. It would be cool to see Mike Singletary at the grocery store,” Curry said this week, chuckling.

And he’ll be looking for another chance to connect Sunday, when Curry’s Seahawks play at Candlestick Park.

“It’s going to be amazing,” he said. “It’s going to be hard to actually make eye contact with him, because he has that ’stare.’ But I’ll peek over there every now and then.

“You watch NFL Network all the time, and you see those same eyes. Even at the combine, he had that same stare that you see in those highlight films.”

Curry said Singletary stayed in character throughout his interview.

“No smiles from him,” Curry said. “The word is from all the guys who met with the 49ers, he never broke into a smile. He just has that ’stare’ about him.

“I called my granddad. I called my mom and my brothers. It was just amazing to actually talk to Mike Singletary!”

As amazing as the $34 million the Seahawks gave him this summer to sign as their highest draft choice since Shawn Springs in 1997. Or as amazing as the Seahawks handing Curry the starting job immediately, from the first minicamp.

Seahawks coach Jim Mora learned the value of starting high draft choices right away a decade ago from Bill Walsh, when Mora was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator and Walsh was a team executive.

“Bill Walsh was one of the ultimate out-of-the-box thinkers. Bill was never afraid to pull the trigger on a guy and make a move that might be unpopular but benefited the health of the organization,” Mora said.

In 2001, the 49ers drafted Andre Carter with the seventh overall pick, and Mora had the rookie defensive end as a backup for his first practice. Walsh called the young coordinator into his office to ask why.

“We drafted him (seventh). He’s earned it. Put him in there now. Let the guys get used to having him in the huddle. Let him get used to playing with the first-team defense,” Mora remembered Walsh saying.

So this summer, Mora made Curry the starting outside linebacker from Day One — even though that day came eight days into training camp because of contract difficulties.

Curry said it’s the first time he’s been handed any job in his athletic career.

“Yeah, it’s still strange for me,” the 23-year-old said. “All my life I was used to going into a new place and earning something — not that I didn’t earn it, but … “

Curry, who flew around like a kid last weekend against the Rams and was as sassy as a teenager to opposing veterans, realizes veteran offensive players around the league will target him to see if he’ll lose his temper, commit a foolish personal foul or just fail to measure up.

“I understand that. They want to see why I was picked fourth overall,” Curry said. “Am I a bust? Is it all hype?

“Or am I really the real deal?”