Vikings rookie defensive tackle Isame Faciane is hearing a familiar voice in his ear for his first training camp. His defensive line coach at FIU was none other than Andre Patterson, the Vikings' defensive line coach.
The undrafted free agent spent last season under Patterson before he was hired by the Vikings. Faciane is attempting to crack the roster as a flexible defensive tackle that can play both three-technique and nose tackle.
Faciane has seen an increase in reps over the last two days mixing in with the second team. He's felt improvement getting over his stance and improving as a pass rusher over the last three days as Patterson continues to stress technique.
"Run to the near hip and have my hips down on the field while I'm rushing," Faciane said about his improvement as a pass rusher. "It's just repetitive things I keep telling myself and just self-taught throughout the whole practice."
With the first preseason game next Friday against the Raiders, Faciane knows that will be a big opportunity to receive more reps in practice. Patterson reminds him and the rest of the defensive line about how crucial their preseason play will be in deciding whether some will crack the 53-man roster.
"I'm itching to get out there and especially play somebody different," Faciane said. "Going against my teammates for training camp and OTAs gets old after a while. You're ready to see different people and different foes."
Here's a rep featuring Faciane and defensive tackle Fred Evans against (from left to right) guard David Yankey, center Joe Berger and guard Vladimir Ducasse. Faciane stunts to his right and brings pressure against Yankey.
SETTING THE SCENE: It was another nice day in Mankato. Temperatures hovered around 80 degrees with mostly sunny skies and not a drop of rain in sight. It was a decent turnout too for a Thursday afternoon.
