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Thielen Shines At Vikings Mini-Camp

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Detroit Lakes-native Adam Thielen put on quite a show during Vikings mini-camp last week.

He had a magical fall while playing at Minnesota State Mankato. While the coach was on leave, the team rallied and ran the table in the conference before losing in the NCAA playoffs.

"Most fun year I ever had. To be able to focus on just football and come together as a team and just really play our hearts out and give it all we got," Thielen said.

Thielen was good enough in college, and the last nine months have turned into a whirl wind. He caught the attention of his home town team, the Vikings, and they invited him to mini-camp.

"It's been a lot of fun. It's been a long ride, but finally to where I want to be and hopefully can keep it going," he said.

So he tries to learn and impress, knowing every play matters when you're a free agent - and understanding that this isn't a bad way to make a living.

"It's doing something I love to do every day, and get to wake up and excited to come out here and practice," he said.

He has to be careful not to be overwhelmed when catching passes from Christian Ponder.

"It's just another day. I just got to treat it out here as getting better. And Christian's a great guy. He talks to me in the locker room. He's just really a good role model. So it makes it a lot easier when you have guys like that in your locker room," he said.

And there are the questions from back home, mainly about what it's like to be Adrian Peterson's teammate.

"I got a text this morning," Thielen said. "'Is he really that big?'"

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