RICK SPIELMAN: Very excited we were able to get Christian in. Had a little flight delay getting from where he was coming. We helped our franchise last night by what we were able to get accomplished.
When we go through the system with coaches and scouts, not only looking for good football players that are schematic fits, but we're looking for guys that love to play the game of football, that are high character guys that are extremely intelligent. As we go through our board, Christian hit all those boxes for us as an ideal Viking fit.
So what I'm going to do is kick it over here to Coach Zim to talk a little bit more, but very excited we were able to get Christian in here last night. Coach Zim?
MIKE ZIMMER: First, let me reiterate how good a job Rick and the scouts and the coaches have done in this draft process. We're really excited about the rest of the day. We were very, very fortunate to get a player of Christian's caliber. We love watching him double-team guys into the end zone and doing a great job in pass protection. Hasn't given up any sacks.
So we're real excited to get him out here on the field. We'll get him out here in about ten days now and get him back out here, and we'll start to work with him. I know that our offensive coaches are very excited, and we're going to -- the defensive coaches are going to have to figure out a way how to get around him. So Christian Darrisaw.
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: First, I just want to start off by thanking the Vikings organization for just giving me the chance to be here. I'm very excited and just happy to be a Minnesota Viking for sure. Special shout out to my family just for helping me get to this moment. I'm just glad to be here.
Q. Christian, I know you talked yesterday just about how it was a dream come true in that moment. Obviously, it's not that much longer, but just what has these past 20 hours been like for you?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: Just surreal. Just like taking the sprinter van over here and seeing the facility, and going to the locker room and seeing my jersey and seeing my name on it with my number, it's like I said, a dream come true. I'm just ready to get to work now.
Q. Anything about the facilities so far that stood out to you the most?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: I'd probably say everything. It's like state of the art. They just got it done in 2018, I believe. The new practice field, the four fields, and the locker room, the training room, the weight room and all that is very nice.
Q. Christian, a lot of guys know that they should be going pretty quickly in the first round, then when the Vikings traded down, you knew they needed an offensive line guy, how nervous were you watching the transactions between the different teams and waiting for your name?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: I wouldn't say I was really nervous. I knew coming into it that anything could happen. I was really prepared for the worst essentially. It's like whatever happened, it was going to happen for a reason.
When I got that phone call from Minnesota, I just knew like they made the right one. They made the right decision.
Q. Coach called you the ultimate warrior, I believe. He talked about your toughness today, playing through injuries and all that. Talk about that mindset you have, playing through injuries and toughness and all that kind of stuff.
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: It's really just like your brothers, the ones you're out there working with just every day in the off-season and training camp and all that. So to have the opportunity, one more opportunity to play with them, I'd give the world for it. That was like the biggest thing for me. I just wanted to play one more game with all my guys and my brothers because it could be the last with them in a way. That was like the biggest thing.
Q. Christian, when they told you about going to Fork Union, how did they sell you on that? A lot of guys, if they have any grades, academics, they'll go the JUCO route, but you chose to go to military school. Why that over JUCO?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: Those guys that went before me like Silas Dzansi, Terius Wheatley, and those guys. It was just like -- I have four years. I only had to stay there for half a semester, and it didn't hurt my eligibility or anything. Once I early enrolled, I was still a freshman. It didn't really take anything away from my eligibility.
That was the biggest thing for me was having all my years and everything. The hardest transition was the military part, but I was able to overcome that.
Q. What's it like when you give up your cell phone, don't have Snapchat or anything kids your age do, what is that like for you?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: It's definitely crazy. You take a kid's cell phone right now, they'll go wild. Not having that cell phone for four months, you definitely got to kind of adjust in a way. You've got to like interact with other people. It's like getting to know other people. That really helped me the most, just interacting with other people.
Q. What have you got to do, Christian, to win the starting left tackle job as a rookie?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: Just come in ready to work. Just get that playbook day one and go out there and be coachable. Whatever the coaches ask you to do, just go out there and do it, and everything will fall into place.
Q. Are there specific linemen that you've kind of watched or model your game after in the NFL?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: So this past off-season, during the NFL Draft process, I've been watching Trent Williams for sure. I feel like he's the best left tackle in the game. Wyatt Teller, Virginia Tech guy, Cleveland Browns, and David Bakhtiari of Green Bay.
Q. Christian, why No. 71?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: My number wasn't available, so it was kind of like the next closest thing. It's not a huge significance to 71, but I like it.
Q. Rick talked last night about just the Zoom calls and what that was like and how he was impressed with your knowledge of the game. Have you always been kind of a student of the game, or is that something that sort of developed over the years for you?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: I'd definitely say that was something I had to develop at Virginia Tech. High school, it wasn't really like huge, like a focus on different fronts and everything. So once you got to college, you try and become like the best player you can be. To make it to this level, you've got to start breaking down everything.
And it kind of helped me. Going through all these Zoom calls and everything with all of these coaches, I was able to pick up on it quick, and it really didn't take a lot of time.
Q. Do you have a feeling for how big the difference is between defenses that you're going to see, the number of fronts and rushes and things like that in the NFL?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: That's a huge difference for sure. Back at Virginia Tech, it was real simple. Now you've got like 25 front, 47, 30s, and all that. It's not hard. Once you learn it, I picked up on it quick. I was able to pick up on it quick.
Q. Do you know anybody on the Vikings, any friends or any guys you've competed against in particular?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: Not that I know of competed against, and no friends, no.
Q. You guys didn't drop back a lot last year, just the functional strength of your run game dictating what you did on offense. But in the body of work you did show in pass protection, how do you feel like that's going to carry over and give you success at this level?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: I just take pride in keeping the quarterback clean. I had the mindset, the quarterback's not going to get touched my way, and if that happens, usually a big play will happen. Blocking the blind side, you've got to get the play started first.
So just having that mindset that you don't want that quarterback to get touched or anything like that, I feel like I'll be dominant versus whoever I go against.
Q. Do you have a sense for or excitement about some of the players you're going to go against in the NFC north? Specifically Khalil Mack, some of the elite players.
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: Oh, definitely Khalil Mack. That's the biggest one for sure with the Bears. And other guys other than in the NFC North, I've seen the Rams, Aaron Donald. I can't wait to go against Aaron Donald.
Q. Christian, have you heard from Kirk Cousins or any of your future teammates since the draft?
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW: I have heard from a few teammates. I seen Kirk Cousins welcome me on Twitter. That's pretty dope seeing that. Other than that, that's it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports