On Monday during the Minnesota Vikings first full-contact practice of training camp, the team's top-pick in the 2012 draft, Matt Kalil, went up against the team's top-defensive pass rusher in Jared Allen. Although Allen managed to get the best of the rookie on some drills, the former USC standout managed to hold his own in his first taste of NFL competition.
Via ESPN 1500:
"It's a good matchup," coach Leslie Frazier said. "Looking forward to continuing to watch that over time. It looked like Matt held his own for the most part. There were a couple times Jared got around him, but that's to be expected."
At one point, Allen managed to yank off Kalil's helmet and proceeded to hoist it into the air like a prize as he moved through the other players waiting to participate in the drill.
After a few days of friendly banter, the action didn't bother Kalil in the slightest.
"Oh no, he's a great guy," Kalil said, flashing a smile of his own after the first padded practice of training camp on Monday afternoon.
"We've got along really well in this camp, and I'm just glad he's on the same team as me."
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