JOTTINGS
• Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked to sum up the battle for Chad Greenway's former weak-side linebacker position. "We're going to look at all of the guys in there," Zimmer said, before pointing to a 2015 seventh-round pick. "Edmond [Robinson] has had a couple of good days here in the last couple of days. I think he's feeling more comfortable with it. We'll just see. I'm not opposed to one of these younger guys if they end up being the guy."
• Little has been said about German wide receiver Moritz Böhringer, who was drafted in the sixth round last year and spent 2016 on the practice squad. According to fellow receiver Adam Thielen, Böhringer is showing improvement. "Mo has done a great job," Thielen said. "He has worked his tail off and asking tons of questions, trying whatever he can to be the best player he can be."
• Cornerback Xavier Rhodes said of going against Thielen in practice: "He's a technician. If Thielen is told to run 9 yards, he's going to run exactly 9 yards in and out of his break. He comes out of his break pretty well. He can move his weight pretty well. With Thielen, if the ball is in the air, he's going to catch it with one hand, one finger, it doesn't matter. He's going to find a way to get the ball. Thielen is great to go against."
• Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck was asked, after three months on the job, if he has any doubts he can win here. "Absolutely we can win here," he said. "Not only can we win here, we can win championships here. I really mean that wholeheartedly. We don't just want to win here, we want to win championships. We don't want to talk about good seasons and we had this many wins and count wins, let's in the future — I can't promise it this year or the next year or the next year … but it will happen that this will become a championship program."
• D1 Circuit, which covers AAU basketball around the country, named Apple Valley's Tre Jones its offensive player of the year for the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League after he averaged 19.3 points, 8.3 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. Howard Pulley tied for the league's best record at 15-3.
