Offensive coordinator Norv Turner took the podium after Monday’s morning walk-through and answered the tough questions about an offensive line that was at the bottom of the league last year. 

Turner, who's entering his 32nd year in the league, stood tall and firm and reassured that his unit would be much improved this season with the guys they’ve added in the mix.  

The Minnesota Vikings waited until the fourth-round to address the position, but once they did so, general manager Rick Spielman fired away and grabbed three players total to contribute on the offensive-line.  

The most highly regarded of the group was Pittsburgh’s T.J. Clemmings, who was on the verge of hanging up his cleats and jersey until he made the conversion from defensive end to the right tackle position his junior year.  

With so little experience, Clemmings was widely considered to be raw and unpolished heading into the draft. However, the gameplay he put on film was so impressive the national media considered him a possible first-round pick.  

Days leading up to the draft rumors were started about Clemings struggling with a foot injury and he sat and watched players hear their name called round-by-round until the Vikings pulled the trigger on him, stating the he was just too good to pass up at that point.  

Clemmings went through the normal rookie struggles at Winter Park in rookie minicamps and OTAs, however, he was still the odds on favorite to win the vacated right guard position left by Brandon Fusco, who was moved to the left side.  

Which is why the biggest news from Mankato wasn’t regarding Teddy Bridgewater’s second-season progression or the return of Adrian Peterson. Instead it was last years backup tackle Mike Harris starting at the right guard position over Clemmings.

With the buzz and potential of Clemmings leaving draft weekend fans, media, and coaches seem to have a general consensus that the position was Clemmings for the taking, but clearly not the case early in training camp.  

Zimmer spoke to the media on Sunday and stated that the team felt Clemmings best position was now slated to be posted up on the outside at the tackle spot.  

Wandering eyes filled the media tent as sudden confusion was as thick as the hot summer air.  With Clemmings suddenly now kicked back out to tackle the once not so long ago highly regarded prospect that was sure to make a huge impact in his rookie year, but was now stuck behind two cornerstones of the Vikings roster in former Pro Bowler Matt Kalil and long-time starter Phil Loadholt.  

Zimmer did go on to say Harris is their preliminary option, while last year's rookie David Yankey and Oklahoma rookie Tyrus Thompson continue to battle for the right guard job.  

For now, Mike Harris continues to practice with the first-team while Clemmings, among other young players, learn the nuances of the NFL game. This shouldn’t come to much surprise though as Spielman and Zimmer have been known to bring along their young players slowly to better help progress their talents in the long run.  

Training Camp Notes

* The second-biggest position battle will be found at the middle linebacker spot where another fellow rookie Eric Kendricks will look to lock up a starting position.  While Kendricks excels in pass coverage and is sure to be a heavy contributor in passing situations in the nickel package, as a small and undersized linebacker, he will have a hard time beating out Audie Cole in the 4-3 base defense.  

Cole, who stands tall at 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, is much better suited physically to help in run support. A balanced mixture of the two even during the season isn't out of the question and seems the most plausible at this point as Zimmer would be maximizing the skill-set of each player where they fit best.

* If the middle linebacker job is the second-biggest battle, then the Vikings safety spot next to Harrison Smith isn't far behind. Currently, the defense has implemented last year's starter Robert Blanton, who led the team in tackles last season. However, while Blanton wasn’t downright bad, it was clear in a division full of elite passers and pass catchers that his range in coverage could be exploited.

After reading between the lines of Zimmer and Spielman offseason press conferences, Antone Exum is my odds-on-favorite to replace Blanton in the lineup. Even more so, Exum just looks bigger, faster, and in general more comfortable this time around as he enters a second season that is known for huge improvements for most former rookies.  

* Rick Spielman scoured every region of the world for the possibility to add talent to his roster. Heck, he even went to Poland where he found Babatunde Aiyegbusi, a 6-foot-9, 345-pound offensive tackle.  Aiyegbusi started with the third team early in camp where he showed typical signs of a player who is foreign to the speed and nuances of the american game.  

While he had an equal share of impressive plays and head scratchers (most of which came against LSU rookie defensive-end Danielle Hunter), one thing was for sure—the sheer size and power of Aiyegbusi. Clearly the biggest man on the field, Aiyegbusi walked over players like Brandon Fusco and Tim Johnson like a man amongst boys.  

He has a long way to go to secure a roster spo,t which will likely come in the form of a practice squad designation. However, his massive frame and tools in which to work with are highly impressive and something that quite frankly i've never seen before.  

* Much to no surprise, the defense took control of practice in 11 on 11 drills as the offense struggled to find much of a rhythm against Zimmer’s attacking and stingy defense. This is typical early in camp as it's the defense's job to simply react to what the offense is doing, and can mirror their opponents’ vanilla schemes and play designs during the first few days.  

That's not to say the offense didn't have a few big plays of their own however, as Cordarrelle Patterson stole a floating Shaun Hill pass out of the air for a long gain during one series. And while the pads are still hanging in the equipment room, running backs Adrian Peterson and Jerick McKinnon looked extremely quick and sharp both between the tackles and in the flats.