Sid Hartman: Bieniemy looks forward to working with Peterson

As a member of the UCLA coaching staff, Vikings running backs coach Eric Bieniemy spent a lot of time with Adrian Peterson in Palestine, Texas, and thought he had a good chance to sign the running back. But Peterson eventually chose Oklahoma.

"You know what I like to think: We came close, but you know, it was probably wishful thinking," Bieniemy said. "But we threw our hat in the ring, and we got him to come on the trip [to UCLA], so in that sense, I felt we did a great job. We just didn't fit where he wanted to go."

Bieniemy said it brought up old times when he talked on the phone to Peterson after the Vikings drafted him in the first round Saturday.

"When we talked on the phone that's what we said. It's funny how things work," Bieniemy said.

The Vikings put an emphasis on character in deciding who to draft, and Bieniemy couldn't say enough about Peterson.

"He's a great kid; you know he comes from a great family, he's a hard-working, humble kid," Bieniemy said. "The only thing he wants to do is improve in any area of life on the field, or in life off the field, but I'm excited to have this opportunity to work with him and I'm looking forward to it."

Bieniemy said Peterson was recruited by more than 100 universities out of high school.

"We were fortunate enough when I was at UCLA to get him to come on the trip, and he came out there for a weekend," Bieniemy recalled. "We spent a lot of time and we developed a relationship. The thing about it, the unique aspect about the kid, is not just the talent but the person that you get. You're getting a guy with great character and a kid that doesn't take anything for granted. When you've got that, combined with a player who has the unique physical abilities that he has, I think the sky can be the limit for him.

"He mentally just has the mindset whereas he always wants to get better. ... He's always been one of the better players regardless of what level he's played at, whether it's high school or college, but the way he carries himself, you would never know that. Because like I say, he's a humble, hard-working kid who doesn't take anything for granted and takes a lot of pride in everything that he does."

Bieniemy looks for the Vikings to have a superior 1-2 rushing attack with Chester Taylor and Peterson.

"I think we can utilize those two in some great situations, and as a running back coach, I couldn't be any more happy," Bieniemy said. "I've got a 1,200-yard rusher and now ... [have] an opportunity to coach a young Adrian Peterson at this level."

It might be denied by all at Winter Park, but I am convinced that had Louisiana State safety LaRon Landry not been taken by Washington at No. 6, the Vikings would have taken him instead.

You don't draft players for public relations reasons. But not only can Peterson play, he also will give Vikings fans a reason to get excited because he is a breakaway threat at running back.

Not just in the draft

While the Vikings have worked hard on the draft, they also have a strong list of top college players who won't be drafted, and they are going to make a strong bid for the best.

"They did a very good job here last year," Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman said. "They got the Jayme Mitchells of the world and Jason Carters, and we had a couple of guys, Wendell Mathis, who is on our practice squad and got active a little bit towards the end.

"There were guys that you could pick up that end up making your ballclub, and Martin Nance, we picked up from Buffalo ... and he ended up playing the last game for us, so again, fans have to realize that this is a major piece of the puzzle [of] how we're going to build this organization, and not only for next year but for future years. But ... it's a 12-month process and you continually work and work and work to keep adding players."

Spielman added that team owners Zygi and Mark Wilf have provided a large budget for whatever it takes to get the good undrafted free agents.

Jottings

Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Tom Kelly will all be on hand when Twins farm director Jim Rantz joins them in the team's Hall of Fame on May 5. Nobody deserves this honor more than Rantz, who has signed more players who ended up making a big-league contribution than most any farm director in baseball. Former Twins third baseman Gary Gaetti also will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 19, capping a weekend honoring the 1987 World Series championship team.

With both Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond banged up, there is a good chance that Class AAA Rochester catcher Chris Heintz -- who began the season with the Twins -- will be recalled. ... It's possible that Twins outfielder Rondell White, who has a calf injury, might not rejoin the club until after the All-Star break.

A year ago, Texas defensive back Michael Huff was drafted seventh overall, by the Oakland Raiders. He signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract that guaranteed $15 million in pay, and Peterson figures to make slightly more than that.

Local promoter Tommy Collins brings "Champions on Ice," the best skating show of the year, to Target Center on May 12 with a cast of top Olympic figure skaters from around over the world.

You wonder if the Vikings will sign former Holy Angels and Wisconsin quarterback John Stocco if he is a free agent. Vikings coach Brad Childress said that while at the NFL combine, Stocco was one of the quarterbacks who got a chance to do a lot of throwing to receivers, and he was able to impress a lot of the NFL coaches and scouts in Indianapolis.

Bill Walker, who spent eight years as an assistant men's basketball coach under Dan Monson with the Gophers, has been named the video coordinator under new coach Mark Turgeon at Texas A&M. "I've known Bill for a long time," Turgeon said in a release. "You want people on your staff to be loyal to you and your university and that's what Bill will be. He may be overqualified to be our video coordinator, but he will do a great job." Turgeon was hired by the Aggies from Wichita State, replacing Billy Gillispie, who left Texas A&M for Kentucky to replace Tubby Smith after Smith took the Gophers job.

Memo to University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks, Vice President Kathy Brown and athletic director Joel Maturi: In the short time that Jim Molinari was here, first as an assistant coach under Monson and then as interim coach, he made as many friends as almost any member of the Gophers athletic department. If he can't find a coaching job, Molinari would be one great ambassador to Maturi or the people who work at Morrill Hall. Molinari could do one great job selling the University of Minnesota.

Jonathan Williams, the Gophers basketball center who will be a senior next year, said that in the individual workouts so far, Smith has made a great impression on his teaching and his ability to communicate with the athletes. ... With Smith not expected to bring in a new recruit even though he has one scholarship available, it's apparent that Jamal Abu-Shamala a former walk-on, will be given a scholarship again for this next season.

Jimmy Williams, the former Gophers basketball assistant who resigned as an assistant at Oklahoma State because he was expecting to take a job to return to Minnesota under Smith, didn't get his old job back with the Cowboys. Instead, he has been replaced by former Oklahoma State player Corey Williams. Jimmy Williams wasn't rehired here because he was on Bill Musselman's Gophers coaching staff 30 years ago that had some problems with the NCAA. Corey Williams, incidentally, played four games with the Timberwolves on a 10-day contract in February 1994.

Jim Jackson, who was a graduate assistant for the Louisiana-Lafayette football team last year, has joined the Gophers as a graduate assistant.

Gophers tight end Matt Spaeth was picked in the third round by Pittsburgh. He had been projected as a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

To make it clear, Gary Wilson gave up his job as the Gophers women's track head coach, but he now has a new six-year contract as coach of the women's cross-country team.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. • shartman@startribune.com