Patrick Reusse: If Sullivan flops, offense stops

He was an ironman performer in a Midwestern outpost where people have been known to wear green to support their team. He is now in charge of a Vikings position that carries a rich tradition dating to the team's early years. He will be in the middle of the Purple offense when the season opens in Cleveland.

On Wednesday, he featured a distinctive growth of facial hair as he answered questions from a midweek media gathering at Winter Park.

There were three TV microphones and a half-dozen digital recorders ready to register his thoughts concerning Sunday's first-ever start for the Vikings.

"I feel like we've already been into it," he said. "This game is more significant, because it counts, but those preseason starts were also important to me."

The failure to mention any nerves that might be eating at him four days before his first Vikings' start caused Channel 9's Jim Rich to plead for an admission that the new guy's corpuscles were jumping.

"How would you say you're feeling when you're in the middle of this?" Rich asked. "You said you were into it in preseason games, but this has got to be a different feel."

John Sullivan, the second-year center from Notre Dame, decided to meet Rich halfway and said:

Sullivan is taking over at a position in which the Vikings have been represented in the Pro Bowl eight times in the past 11 years (Matt Birk six, Jeff Christy two).

He is taking over at a position where rookie Mick Tingelhoff started the opener in 1962, kicking off a streak of 240 consecutive regular-season starts that continued until his retirement after the 1978 season.

He is taking over at a position where four other Vikings centers -- Birk, Christy, Kirk Lowdermilk and Dennis Swilley -- have had runs of six seasons or longer as the starter.

He is taking over one year after being a sixth-round draft choice. It would be unusual for a late-rounder to move into the lineup so quickly, if it was a position other than center.

The Vikings have a history of successful long shots in the middle. Tingelhoff was an undrafted free agent in the era of 20-round drafts. Christy was signed in 1993 after spending a year on the Cardinals practice squad. Birk was a sixth-rounder out of Harvard in 1998.

So, it's Sullivan getting a chance to be the Vikings' next long-term success at center. He is listed at 301 pounds, which might be heavy by 10. He is listed at 6-4, and it's mostly torso with short legs.

Steve Hutchinson, the veteran guard, was asked about Sullivan and said, "He's doing well."

What will the No. 1 issue the 24-year-old faces on Sunday?

"The 370-pound guy lined up in front of him," Hutchinson said. "I don't know what they have Shaun [Rogers] listed at, but he's always big."

Rogers became familiar to the Vikings when he was in Detroit. He's now a straight-up nose tackle in Cleveland's 3-4 front. He didn't play in exhibitions, but the Vikings expect to see the monster surface for the opener.

Any similar giants in his Notre Dame days? "I don't have to go back that far," he said. "I practice against Pat Williams and Kevin Williams every day."

Right guard Anthony Herrera, entering his third season as a starter, will be positioned between Sullivan and Phil Loadholt, the massive rookie tackle, on Sunday.

Herrera said, "His brain," when asked what impressed him about Sullivan.

Was this a suggestion the young man from Notre Dame was smarter than his predecessor from Harvard?

"I wouldn't take it there," Herrera said. "Matty Birk was one of a kind."

"Stay low," Sullivan said.