EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- As soon as last weekend's draft finished, Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman was already beaming over some of the potential players the team could add as undrafted free agents.
Tuesday, the Vikings agreed to terms with 10 undrafted college free agents, including a safety who could vie for a roster spot and a possible developmental quarterback.
Tennessee cornerback Justin Coleman, Notre Dame receiver DaVaris Daniels, Iowa State center Tom Farniok, Virginia safety Anthony Harris, Old Dominion quarterback Taylor Heinicke, BYU receiver Jordan Leslie, Pittsburgh State receiver Gavin Lutman, Boise State fullback Blake Renaud, Saginaw Valley State offensive guard Jesse Somsel and Boston College offensive guard Bobby Vardaro all agreed to terms with Minnesota.
"We're very excited about some of the names that we were able to get in the college free agency," Spielman said Saturday. "We're going to have a couple of free agents that I think are going to have a legitimate chance."
Harris, a 6-foot-1, 183-pound safety, might have the best opportunity. Harris was projected to be a third- or fourth-round draft pick, according to his NFL.com draft biography, after he had a 108 tackles last season with two tackles for loss, one sack, 10 pass deflections and two interceptions.
A three-year starter at Virginia, he finished with 11 interceptions and 19 pass deflections in college.
The Vikings have an emerging star in Harrison Smith at safety but little assurances after Smith. Robert Blanton began last season as the starter before being injured and losing his starting spot to Andrew Sendejo. Blanton didn't get his job back after returning from injury, and Sendejo has mostly been known for his work on special teams.
Minnesota signed Taylor Mays, who played for head coach Mike Zimmer in Cincinnati, but Mays has started few games in the league, as well. The Vikings also drafted Antone Exum in the sixth round last year out of Virginia Tech.
"I'll let you know when our college free agency comes out," Spielman said Saturday in response to a question about the safety position. "One thing I can tell you though is, definitely Exum from last year who made the conversion from corner to safety, we're very excited also about the progress he has made. Also with Blanton and Sendejo, I think we know what those guys are. But you know Exum is someone were definitely going to be keeping a close eye on and see how well he comes along from last year, but very talented athlete."
Heinicke was honorable mention All-Conference USA last season while completing 289 of his 457 passes (63.2 percent) for 3,476 yards and 30 touchdowns. Heinicke, who played in the East-West Shrine Game, added 139 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
In 2013, he became just the 18th quarterback in Division I to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in his career. Heinicke ranks third all-time in Football Bowl Subdivision history with 16,279 yards of total offense. His 132 career touchdown passes are fourth in FBS history and his 14,959 passing yards are the sixth-most in FBS history.
Follow Brian Hall on Twitter
