Minnesota Vikings

Meet the 2017 Vikings: Fun facts about your favorite players

Published Aug. 9, 2017 12:34 p.m. ET

It's been a while, but the NFL is back. Well, at least the preseason games are upon us. With that comes the inundation of statistics — who ran for how many yards, in what round was player drafted, what were a player’s stats in college and so on.

Since you’ll be getting enough football stats about the Minnesota Vikings to fill any void you might have, we thought we’d take a look at the lighter side of things.

We scoured through the Vikings media guide and came up with some different and interesting facts about a number of players. While your friends are dishing out the number of sacks Brian Robison has in his career, you can enlighten them on which player once rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, whose given name is Temuchin, whose grandfather is in the CFL Hall of Fame and much more.

(And if you're saying, hey, you did this last year. Well, yeah, we did. But not one fact from the 2016 edition appears in this year's. So read on and get even more knowledge!)

Read on, enjoy and be prepared to dazzle your buddies with your inside knowledge of Vikings players.

Mackensie Alexander: Was honored on June 28, 2016 with Mackensie Alexander Day by Collier County, Fla.

Willie Beavers: Grew up a fan of the Detroit Lions.

Joe Berger: Enjoys building furniture, woodworking projects and trap shooting.

Moritz Bohringer: Started playing competitive football in 2013.

Sam Bradford: Rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange three days after winning the Heisman (note: The Dow rose 100 points that day).

Teddy Bridgewater: Served as the Grand Marshall of the Kentucky Derby in 2015.

T.J. Clemmings: Turned down several Division 1 basketball scholarships to play football.

Pat Elflein: Worked on a concrete crew during summers when in high school.

Michael Floyd: Roomed with current Vikings teammate Kyle Rudolph for three years while the pair were at Notre Dame.

Bucky Hodges: Given first name is Temuchin.

Danielle Hunter: Moved to the United States from Jamaica when he was 8 years old.

Linval Joseph: Has a Maltese-Yorkie cross named Lucky.

Eric Kendricks: At UCLA was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll each year from 2011-14.

Caleb Kidder: Was a top-five ski racer in the western U.S. when he was in junior high.

Marshall Koehn: Ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, the fastest time for a kicker or punter in over a decade.

Kevin McDermott: Went on a safari and tracked gorillas in Africa this past offseason.

David Morgan: First UTSA player drafted to the NFL (the program began in 2010).

Latavius Murray: Pursuing his MBA online from Syracuse University.

Jabari Price: A high school teammate of Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson.

Ryan Quigley: Had his number retired in 2016 by North Myrtle Beach High School.

Tre Roberson: His grandfather, Larry Highbaugh, is in the CFL Hall of Fame.

Andrew Sendejo: Has extensive background in martial arts, and his father is an instructor.

Jack Tocho: Completed his college degree in three years.

Nick Truesdell: Sang the National Anthem before his final home game with the AFL's Spokane Shock in 2015.