When was the last time Dan Chisena — the talented but raw former Penn State track runner who was the only undrafted rookie to make the Vikings' initial 53-man roster — played defense before his three-day experiment in training camp?
"I think it was middle school," Chisena said Monday via videoconference. "So, it was a little different."
Days before last weekend's roster cuts, Vikings coaches told Chisena, who played 14 games as a receiver after rejoining Penn State's football team, he'd be switching to safety. But because of the communication responsibilities at safety, they moved him to corner for three practices.
That idea was quickly shelved, and the Vikings instead made Chisena the seventh receiver on the active roster last weekend.
What the Vikings know is Chisena's speed helped make him a standout special teams player in limited college experience, and changing positions was a matter of seeing what else he could do with the roster spot.
"We feel like he's got a chance to be a premier special teams player," coach Mike Zimmer said. "So, hopefully he can get 20-25 plays a game."
Chisena has been working as a gunner on coverage teams, where there is an opening after some special teams contributors left in free agency. Chisena, a Downingtown, Pa., native, first walked on as a Penn State football player in 2015 and only switched to track because that's where he got a scholarship (and NCAA rules prohibited from playing both).
Outrunning the competition is his game.