Minnesota Vikings Rookie Training Camp: 5 Midwest Players Get a Chance This Weekend

The Minnesota Vikings are hosting their rookie training camp this weekend, and several Midwest football players will get a chance to show what they have to offer. Five of these young men are represented by Greg Johnson of Origin Sports Management in Minneapolis:

  1. John Oyloe, DL  University of Mary (North Dakota)
  2. Michael Walker, RB — St. Cloud State
  3. Jeremy Reierson, TE — University of Minnesota, Duluth
  4. Seth Mathis, ILB — Bethel University
  5. Jon Wolf, QB/WR — Minnesota State University, Mankato

“We’re very excited that all of our rookie clients are in an NFL camp this year,” Johnson said. “Our five clients in the Vikings camp have been an extremely dedicated and hard-working group — training at ETS Gym (in Woodbury) and totally changing their nutrition regimen over the past four months. Their ready to take advantage of their opportunity.”

Current Vikings RB Zach Line personally recognizes the honor and significance of being invited to the training camp. He’s been there. In 2013, Line joined the rookie training camp weekend as an undrafted free agent; he proved to the coaches what he could bring to the table, and on Opening Day, Line was the only undrafted rookie from his class to make Minnesota’s roster.

Line experienced an initial shock and disappointment over not finding a team through the Draft, but he knew that wouldn’t be the end for him. “I knew I belonged on the field and had the ability and work ethic to play this game at its highest level,” Line said. “The draft is only the beginning. It’s not where you start   it’s where you finish!”

For Oyloe, Walker, Reierson, Mathis and Wolf, their journey begins today at the start of mini camp. For the next three days, these guys hope to show Minnesota that they have what it takes to make this team better.  As Line explains, the rookie camp puts young players on an even playing field and allows coaches to see which players are able to learn the playbook.

Line offers the following advice for these players:

“Accentuate your talents. Whatever it is that you are really good at do it really well every time. Coaches can then depend on you and find a spot for you. If you don’t have talent in other areas you need to be able to learn and not repeat the same mistake day after day. Put the draft behind you, check your pride at the door and play ball […] Once you’re on the field, everyone is an equal. Just because one guy was drafted does not mean he now has more power, more speed, or more heart than you. ‘You earn the right to play this game at its higher level on the practice field.’ Notice  this quote has nothing to do with the draft.”

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To see individual articles on the five prospects, view upcoming Vikings Territory posts. 

 

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