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No rookie had more to learn upon joining the Minnesota Vikings than Ryan D'Imperio.
Sure, Joe Webb had to go from UAB's shotgun-spread offense to coach Brad Childress' West Coast scheme -- but at least he ended up at the position he knows best.
D'Imperio was moving from linebacker to fullback, which he hadn't played since high school.
The seventh-round draft pick from Rutgers has made progress over the past four months -- perhaps most noticeably in the passing game, as evidenced by his 7-yard catch-and-run touchdown in Saturday's preseason win over Seattle.
D'Imperio still has a long way to go, though. Barring injuries, he most likely will be among the Vikings who find themselves on waivers by Saturday's 5 p.m. deadline for NFL teams to cut from 75 players to 53.
"There's really a lot to playing fullback," offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said this week. "Not just being able to catch the ball out of the backfield, but being able to stick your nose in there. We tell that guy to run his head into a wall 15 to 20 times a game and being able to hold up there. Then there are some very subtle adjustments that you have to make on the fly, as you are moving.
"You have to be able to see that. You have to be able to make those adjustments. Some of the ability flashes, but you have to be able to see the whole picture."
That doesn't mean D'Imperio is done. He's a strong candidate for the practice squad and is putting in the extra time to continue his upward arc.
After watching him hit the blocking bag and sled by himself for 10 minutes or so, I spoke with D'Imperio following Tuesday's practice.
You've clearly made progress since you first arrived for OTAs. Do you see that progress in yourself?
"Honestly, I just take it one day at a time. I really haven't looked back at where I came from. I'm just worried about where I'm at now. There's a few things I'm still struggling with, things I need to work on, and that's all I work on."
What are those things you need to work on?
"Just the small things. As far as like making contact -- that's not as big of a deal. It's just the small things, as far as driving through people, keeping the feet moving -- the small technique things."
And you had to start from scratch in terms of your hand placement, your base. Is that something you've spend time on with Eric (Bieniemy, the running backs coach)?
"I talked to him. He really worked with me as far as small technique things -- a couple different things I could do on my own to really improve. Out there on the field, he wouldn't let me get away with any of the small things I did wrong. He would really be on me, harping, and it made me a lot better. It made me where I'm at now."
That's one of his strengths, not letting things go ...
"He doesn't, and it's actually a great thing."
You were on the No. 1 kick return unit Saturday against Seattle. Safe to say you're going to get a lot of run on special teams again Thursday?
"Yes, absolutely. ... There's going to be a lot going on. It's going to be a really good chance to see how I can do, if I improve in certain things and what I need to really work on."
The final preseason game is huge for pretty much every seventh-round pick. What's your mentality going in?
"I'm just going to continue to do what I'm doing, just continue working really hard, watching film, seeing the little things that I've got to work on, staying out here doing extra things after practice that really can help me out and just listen to coaches. You do that, and you do the little things, things you usually go your way."
You're such a big guy (6-foot-2, 241 pounds) for a fullback. Is your biggest challenge getting your pads down and playing with leverage?
"That's one of the things I really need to work on. I'm used to, as a defensive player, staying up, looking over the line to read and then getting low at the last second. Pretty much, a fullback wants to stay low the whole time. It's a little bit different, and that's what I really need to work on. That's what I'm struggling with a lot."
I imagine coaches are telling you that size eventually can be used to your advantage ...
"It's basically pointless if you don't stay low. That's the one thing I really need to work on. I've been trying to do little things. It's coming along and something I'm really trying to focus on. But I've just got to keep on getting lower and lower, and eventually, it'll work out."
What's it going to be like on Friday and Saturday, knowing you might get the call?
"It's going to be nerve-wracking. It's something that, especially someone in my position, a seventh-round player, where you're not sure what's going to happen. You've basically just got to go on like it's not going to happen. You've got to treat it like you are going to be on the team, because you don't want to have that step behind."
