Sid Hartman: Frazier says Vikings are still shopping

There has been a lot of talk about the Vikings building for the future and not counting on being a contender this year, but if you ask coach Leslie Frazier, he doesn't believe that to be true.

"Not in our profession. Somebody else will be sitting in this seat if I look to the future," Frazier said. "I have to get our guys ready to have a good season next year. We need to have a good year."

While a lot of Vikings fans are unhappy because the team has signed only one player -- tight end John Carlson -- since the NFL free-agent market opened last week, Frazier said for everyone to be patient, because the club is still looking at signing some more players.

"We still want to find a wide receiver that can really threaten the field vertically," the Vikings coach said. "We also want to improve our secondary along with our linebackers, also.

"We're going to look to do that, we're going to look to upgrade our team. We may do it through free agency, but we're definitely going to do it through the draft, as well. But, yeah, we're still looking at some players in free agency. ... It's not closed, we're still looking."

Frazier believes that in Carlson, the former Seahawks player who signed a five-year, $25 million contract with $11 million guaranteed, the Vikings have found an impact player. "I think adding John Carlson to our football team is going to be a great addition," he said.

Frazier added: "We've got some other players that we're targeting [in free agency], along with this upcoming draft.

Young players will help Frazier says there are some players on the current Vikings roster that he expects a lot out of as well.

Speaking about the offensive line, he said: "Brandon Fusco is going to be a guy who has to come along and play better for us, and we're looking forward to watching him develop. We think John Sullivan is going to be a better football player for us. We need Chris DeGeare to really come on for us. DeMarcus Love, a young man we drafted a year ago, we need those young guys to come along and play well for us." Love and Fusco were selected in last year's draft.

Regarding the defensive backs, he said: "We really need Asher Allen to really step up and play well for us. With our young secondary, Mistral Raymond, we need him to play well for us. We'd like to get Hussain Abdullah back from the concussion. We think we have a chance to draft some secondary help, which we'll have to be able to do.

"Jasper Brinkley [who missed last season] is going to be a big plus for us at linebacker, get him back in the fold, and hopefully we'll be able to sign some of our free agents as well," said Frazier, referring to brothers E.J. and Erin Henderson. "We're still in the process of trying to get some things done. I hope we get one or both of them back."

So stay tuned. According to Frazier, the Vikings will still make some moves.

After winning their NIT opener against La Salle in Philadelphia last week, the Gophers will be a big underdog Monday in the game at Miami (Fla.). The Hurricanes won at Duke, beat Florida State and beat Virginia Tech twice. Both teams played Appalachian State; Miami won by 30, the Gophers by 16.

On a different topic, University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler was asked his opinion on the NCAA's recent proposal of paying athletes an additional stipend.

"There is vigorous discussion, I would say, about that," Kaler said. "My view is that if we have a need-based situation where we have a student-athlete who isn't getting his financial needs for suitable living conditions met by an athletic scholarship and a Pell Grant, I'd be willing to consider some additional financial aid on a need-based model. I do not think that across-the-board payment of $2,000 that is not based on need is an appropriate thing to do for our student-athletes."