Sports information blog #29
Brandon Fusco needed only one day of preseason training camp with the Minnesota Vikings to realize he had fulfilled his lifelong dream and was part of the National Football League.
“It sunk in the first day I was up here,” the former Rock All-America center said in a telephone interview while relaxing Sunday night in his Mankato, Minn. hotel room. “In the rooms right beside me were Adrian Peterson and Donovan McNabb. That’s when I knew I was “here.’ ”
Fusco took another big first step last Saturday when he played the last three minutes of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter of the preseason opener at Tennessee.
“It was good to get the first game and all the jitters out of the way,” he said. “The first play I was in the game for was on the field goal unit; I’d never done that before and I am also on the kickoff return team, which is also something I have never done before.
“It took the first full series (of last Saturday’s game) before I really settled down and wasn’t nervous anymore,” Fusco said.
So, overall, how’d the first game go? “I think it went really good,” Fusco said. “I had one bad play that resulted in a half a (quarterback) sack, but other than that I thought I played well … I was happy with the way I played.”
Well … actually Fusco had
two bad plays. He also got called for a personal foul penalty on a pass play shortly after giving up the sack.
“I might get my first letter from the NFL Office,” he said with a chuckle. “I could face a fine.”
The penalty was called away from the play after, as Fusco put it, “I knocked someone on his butt” and was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
“I can’t really say if the call was a good one or not,” Fusco added, “but the NFL Network announcers who were doing the game said it was a bad call. They said ‘we like the way Fusco plays; he’s not one who would make a late hit on anyone,’ which was nice to hear them say.”
Fusco is currently listed as the No. 3 center on the Vikings’ depth chart, but has been splitting time in practice with veteran Jon Cooper (fourth season, Oklahoma) as part of the second unit behind projected starter John Sullivan (fifth season, Notre Dame).
The Vikings will probably keep nine or 10 offensive lineman once the regular season starts, Fusco said. “So I need to keep studying the playbook to get more comfortable with the offense and get better every day.”
The challenge is a little stiffer for a center, Fusco admitted, because “you have to know all the line calls. It’s probably the toughest job on the team for a rookie to learn.”
Performing well on special teams will only enhance Fusco’s chances of making the final roster.
The biggest differences Fusco said he has seen between college and pro games is “the size of the guys – they are all freakish athletes at this level; I was always one of the biggest guys on my team before, but not now – and the speed. Everyone is a lot faster now.”
Overall, “the veterans have treated me pretty well,” Fusco said, “but you’re not really going to be accepted into the group until you make the team.”
Fusco said he really hasn’t been subjected to any of the infamous hazing rituals. “I’ve just had to sing in front of all the offensive guys once and carry (seven-time All-Pro guard) Steve Hutchinson’s shoulder pads a couple of times after practice.
“ (Vikings first-year head coach Leslie Frazier) said he isn’t a real big fan of hazing rookies,” Fusco said. “He said we have more important things to work on right now.”
In that vein, the shortened preseason puts added pressure on players, especially rookies and free agents, to perform well right away, but Fusco is up to the challenge.
“I think I’m doing fine,” Fusco said summarizing his first couple weeks as a professional football player. “I’m having a lot of fun, learning a lot and getting better every day.”
We will attempt to talk with Fusco each week and keep you updated on his progress.
Until next time …
GO ROCK!!
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
