Mankato, MN—Minnesota Vikings organized team activities (OTAs) have officially gotten underway at Winter Park. No one player is as excited as Christian Ponder. Ponder is treating OTAs as a prime opportunity to learn from Vikings starting quarterback, Matt Cassel.

“Studying the moves of a proven veteran like Matt will prove invaluable to me in the future if I ever get the chance to start again for the team.” Ponder said. “Matt is our guy now, and I know that. He’s a former Pro Bowler who’s won a ton of games in this league. I can’t wait to learn from him during camp and watch him play next season.”

Ponder knows that while coaches and even general manager Rick Spielman have labeled him starting quarterback going forward, that doesn’t mean anything in this cut-throat business:

“Our team was on the cusp of greatness last season. It makes all the sense in the world that they’d bring Matt in to get us over the hump.”

Ponder has been seen taking many of the first-team reps in camp so far this year. He attributes that to the Vikings’ solid backup plan, should Cassel go down:

“Coach Frazier had me taking most of the first-team snaps while Matt chilled on the bench. It’s a smart move, because I need to be ready in case Matt can’t play.”

Ponder has high hopes for his starting offense this season. He expects to take most of the reps as a starter up until the beginning of the regular season when games start to matter.