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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tyler Thigpen started from scratch
Metro Toronto, Canada - 16 hours ago
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Tyler Thigpen missed out on the glamorous life many college quarterbacks lead.

When he arrived at Division I-AA Coastal Carolina in 2002, Thigpen was coming to a school that had never fielded a football team.

The Chanticleers did not play a game until 2003, shared a locker-room with the soccer and track teams and practised anywhere they could - from driving ranges to tennis courts.

"Every day I would look at one of my teammates and we would ask one another, 'What are we doing?"' Thigpen said with a chuckle.

He may not have realized it at the time, but Thigpen was taking his first steps toward the NFL. Five years after becoming one of the first football players recruited to Coastal Carolina, Thigpen was taken in the seventh round by the Minnesota Vikings in last weekend's NFL Draft.

By the time Thigpen became a senior at Fairfield Central High School in South Carolina, he had all but given up on a future in football. After being moved from quarterback to wingback, he assumed his playing days would end upon graduation.

"I didn't even think in my senior year of high school that I would play college ball, let alone come to the NFL," Thigpen said. "It's all been a dream come true."

Sat, 05 May 2007 18:36:55 GMT

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