Brandon Fusco Brandon Fusco ( born July 26 , 1988 ) is an American football guard for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Vikings with the 172nd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft . He played college football at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania . Early years . Fusco attended Seneca Valley High School in Harmony , Pennsylvania , where he played offensive tackle . He did not play until his junior year at Seneca Valley , stating " Sophomore year , didn ’ t really do nothing and football just kind of came to my attention . I always watched it on TV and I sometimes got into a ticked off mood so I wanted to get out on the field and take my frustrations out on people . " Despite performing for a team that won just one of eighteen contests during his two varsity seasons , Fusco earned All - WPIAL Class AAA - 1 and honorable mention Quad North All - Star honors . Fusco was also an honor roll student . Fusco was not heavily recruited out of high school , mainly due to his lack of prep school experience and his 6 - 4 , 240 lbs frame . He was only offered a chance to play football at Division II schools , Youngstown State and Slippery Rock being the leading candidates . He eventually chose to enroll at Slippery Rock , stating that he felt very connected with the coaching staff . College career . After enrolling at Slippery Rock in 2006 , Fusco spent his freshman season as a red shirt on the scout team , where he played offensive tackle . In 2007 spring drills , Fusco shifted to center . As a sophomore , Fusco received All - American honorable mention , All Super Region I and All Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first - team honors . He started all eleven games at center , delivering ten touchdown - resulting blocks for a unit that rushed for 29 scores . His efforts help Slippery Rock rank second in the conference with an average of 484 . 14 yards per game . Fusco received All - American , All - Region and All - PSAC first - team accolades as a junior . Named the team captain , he also received squad MVP honors . He led the PSAC Western Division with 98 knockdowns and eleven touchdown - resulting blocks , despite the team ’ s lack of a strong aerial game that ranked 59th in the nation . It was his drive blocking skills that helped the team finish fifth nationally in rushing ( 239 . 54 ypg ) and seventh in total offense ( 456 . 69 ypg ) . He became the 19th player in school history to garner All - American first - team honors more than once in a career , as the 2010 Gene Upshaw Award winner and team captain captured All - PSAC honors for the third consecutive year . With a limited passing game , The Rock again relied on his drive blocking skills to place tenth in the Division II ranks with an average of 247 . 38 yards per game rushing . He capped off an excellent career by becoming the first player in school history to compete in the Senior Bowl . Professional career . 2011 NFL Draft . Along with Will Rackley , Ben Ijalana , and David Arkin , Fusco was considered one of the best small - school offensive line prospects . After a strong performance at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine , Fusco was selected 172nd overall in the 2011 NFL Draft . Minnesota Vikings . Fusco played in three games of his rookie campaign . During his second season he started all 16 regular season games .