Posted April 27, 2011    

•Nick Fairley

•Troy Williamson

•Jerry Kill

•Larry Fitzgerald

•Glen Perkins

Lurtsema Likes TCU’s Dalton for Vikings QB 

Bob Lurtsema didn’t hesitate when asked what the Vikings should do in the NFL draft this week.  “I think it’s imperative to come out of the first or second round with a quarterback,” he told Sports Headliners.   

The former Vikings’ defensive lineman is a close observer of the hometown team that’s searching for someone to replace retiring Brett Favre.  With seemingly no one on the roster ready to be an NFL No. 1 quarterback, and a league labor dispute stopping trades between teams, the draft that begins tomorrow night with the first round is a vital source of QB talent to the Vikings, according to Lurtsema.  

Lurtsema believes Leslie Frazier is a “great coach” but the Vikings’ new football boss must “establish” a quarterback.  And Lurtsema knows who he would take.  

In a deep quarterback draft, superb athletes like Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker are receiving much of the attention and all could be gone before the Vikings choose at No. 12.  But Lurtsema likes TCU’s Andy Dalton, a smart quarterback whose physical skills aren’t overwhelming but he was part of a winning culture at TCU and a four-year starter. 

When asked if he would choose Dalton at No. 12, Lurtsema said: “I would all day long.  Every quarterback that has ever been drafted (through the years), there’s something negative about him.” 

The Vikings draft at No. 11 in the second round, likely too late then to get Dalton whose aptitude and experience presumably interests a lot of teams.  Another quarterback with skills could be available, though.  

If the Vikings don’t take Dalton in the first round, Nick Fairley might be their choice. This is also a draft deep in defensive linemen and Fairley, who has been mentioned as a top five pick, could be too much for the Vikings to pass on if he is still available.  The 6-5, 298-pound Auburn defensive tackle is a monster talent who might fall to the Vikings because there are so many promising linemen, receivers and quarterbacks in this draft, but─oh, yes─Fairley’s work ethic supposedly isn’t the best. 

Fairley, who was both a sizeable run stopper and agile pass rusher for national champion Auburn as a junior, won the Lombardi trophy as the country’s best lineman but observers ask whether he’s a one-year wonder.  Fairley didn’t show much during his sophomore season in 2009 before his big year last fall.  Coming out of high school he first attended junior college. 

The Vikings, though, didn’t shy away from a controversial player in 2009 when wide receiver Percy Harvin, who had reportedly tested positive for marijuana, was still available with the No. 22 pick in the first round.  In 2007 the Vikings were willing to take running back Adrian Peterson with the No. 7 pick after Peterson’s injury history had created skepticism about his durability as a pro.   

Frazier’s background is that of a defensive coach.  He knows the playing days for 38-year-old tackle Pat Williams are few.  Pairing Fairley with Pro Bowler Kevin Williams would give the Vikings a load of talent at defensive tackle.  

Regardless of who the Vikings take in the first round the pressure is on to make this a productive draft.  The franchise had no No.1 pick last year, nor did the Vikings have a first round choice in 2008.  Recent drafts have left the Vikings with a need for young talent who can become starters.

 

Worth Noting 

A performance the Vikings draft experts can’t afford to repeat is 2005. The Vikings chose wide receiver Troy Williamson (No. 7) and defensive end Erasmus James (No. 18) in the first round.  Then they selected guard Marcus Johnson with the No. 49 selection on the second round.  None of the three contributed.  That was prior to vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman joining the Vikings in 2006. 

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Arizona draft a wide receiver in the early rounds with Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. having only one year remaining on his contract with the Cardinals.  Even if Sidney Rice makes a contractual commitment to the Vikings in the offseason, the franchise needs more playmakers at wide receiver.  Would Fitzgerald, a former Vikings ball boy, want to come home? 

Gophers’ senior associate athletics director Marc Ryan, who has administrative responsibilities for football, was impressed with new coach Jerry Kill and his experienced staff during spring practices. 

“How that adds up in wins and losses…looking at the 2011 season, (I) can’t predict how that will shake out.  Without question I think we’ll be an extremely well coached football team,” Ryan said.  

Ryan said the Gophers will receive $400,000 for playing USC in Los Angeles in their opening game on September 3.  Minnesota paid the Trojans the same amount for a visit here last September.  

Kill is in Brainerd tomorrow for an Elks Lodge fundraiser benefitting youth programs.  

A Gophers fan said he wants to see Minnesota play at UCLA.  Why?  He could say he saw Minnesota in the Rose Bowl (UCLA’s regular season home field).

 

Notes Plus 

Chris Hawthorne, the Gophers’ 19-year-old placekicking transfer from North Carolina State, will have one of the best holders in the Big Ten in backup quarterback Adam Lueck.  Hawthorne, who is from Raleigh, was a reserve at North Carolina State but did make five PAT’s and a 25-yard field goal against Wake Forest.  

Gophers’ safety Nathan Tow-Arnett, who will be 29 in July, is the oldest player listed on the spring roster.  Defensive tackle Curran Delaney, a Marine Corps veteran who was a volunteer coach in 2009 at Holy Family High School, is 25. 

Offensive tackle Jonathan Ragoo is listed at 6-7, 391 pounds.  Moses Alipate, 6-5, 285, has to be among the biggest quarterbacks in the nation.  Kill said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle show last Sunday he wants both players to lose weight between now and practice resuming in August.  

Plans for the dozen or so black spruce trees removed from Target Field’s center field area to provide batters a better view for hitting include sending most of them to state parks for replanting.  A contest for season ticket holders has fans explaining in a video why he or she should receive a tree.  

Glen Perkins reportedly threw a 97 miles per hour fastball during a recent relief outing for the Twins, but radar guns can vary in accuracy by a few miles per hour. Gophers assistant baseball coach Rob Fornasiere said the fastest he ever saw Perkins throw was 93 miles per hour.  Perkins won games on 17 consecutive Fridays during 2003 and 2004 when he pitched for the Gophers during Big Ten championship seasons. 

Perkins, who has been a starter for the Twins in past seasons, is trying to re-establish his big league career and he’s been impressive in relief this year.  He has pitched 9.1 innings, giving up six hits and has an ERA of 0.00. 

Good outings could continue.  “He’s a kid who traditionally has pitched better later in the season,” Fornasiere said. 

The Gophers have been victims of inclement weather and Fornasiere said Minnesota’s 29 games played ranks among the lowest major college totals in the country.  Minnesota has played the fewest games in the Big Ten.  “We only have two guys (A.J. Pettersen and Justin Gominsky) with over 100 at bats,” Fornasiere said.  

Head coach John Anderson’s team has 16 games remaining on the regular season schedule and unless they advance deep into the playoffs Minnesota will finish far behind the typical 60 games played.

 

Nathan Tow-Arnett

John Anderson