Vikings' pick at No. 172: Slippery Rock center Brandon Fusco

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Three years after using a sixth-round draft pick on John Sullivan, the Minnesota Vikings used another to bring in some competition for their starting center, selecting Slippery Rock's Brandon Fusco with the 172nd overall pick on Saturday.

Fusco (6-foot-4, 316 pounds) is a unique prospect, and not just because he comes from an NCAA Division I program. He only weighed 240 pounds -- "built like a pencil," he said -- as a senior at Seneca Valley High School in Pennsylvania, where he didn't even play football until his junior year.

"I really wasn't into sports that much sophomore year, didn't really do nothing," Fusco said. "Football came to my attention. I always watched it on TV and whatnot. I was in a pissed-off mood sometimes, so I wanted to get out on the field and take my frustrations out on people."

Fusco's only Division I offer was from Youngstown State, which said he could walk on. He opted to go to Slippery Rock instead and ended up starting 44 games at center.

The Cranberry Township, Pa., native, recorded 332 knockdown blocks in his career and allowed only four sacks, none of them as a senior. He was a first-team All-America pick and his team's offensive MVP last season. 

The tape

Tom Pelissero is Senior Editor and columnist for 1500ESPN.com. He hosts from 6 to 8 p.m. weeknights and co-hosts from 10 a.m. to noon Sundays on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
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