MINNEAPOLIS -- The video arrived on Andre Patterson's phone -- of the lithe boxer popping his sparring partner with thundering hands -- and the Minnesota Vikings' defensive-line coach tried to contain his excitement by concealing it in a joke.
"I told him, 'Don't show that to anybody else, and be careful who you talk to about it,'" Patterson said Wednesday. "'Someone's going to try to talk you into becoming a real boxer.'"
The sparring session -- from one of the workouts Danielle Hunter and Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson did this offseason at Adrian Peterson's gym in Houston -- was but one element in the ongoing effort to bring Hunter's considerable talents to bear as the NFL's next pass-rushing terror.