BISMARCK (AP) -- Brooks Bollinger plans to spend part of the summer in his hometown, running a quarterback and receiver school starting Sunday at the University of North Dakota.
The Minnesota Vikings quarterback says he loves doing the camp, now in its fourth year. He gets to work with his father, Rob, who has coaching experience at Bismarck State College and as offensive coordinator at UND.
"I've got a lot going on, so it's good to have four days to spend a ton of time together and work on football together," Bollinger said.
The Bollingers limit the number of participants so they can give the campers plenty of attention and hands-on training.
"We've got time devoted to the mental side -- the Xs and Os -- as well as the physical," Bollinger added. "We just try to teach them from the ground up. Football is about fundamentals, and we try to make sure they have the basics."
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Bollinger, 27, said the NFL seemed a million miles away when he was in high school. His football role models were all closer to home.
"It was always my dad's teams," Bollinger said. "I spent a lot of time around them. Really, all those players I looked up to ... I went though my Elway phase. I was a big fan of his, but Kory Wahl, Clay Wagner and Kevin Klancher were playing for the Sioux, and they were always around when I was younger."
For the New York Jets, Bollinger completed 150 of 266 passes for 1,558 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Even though he had a solid preseason in 2006, the Jets had a logjam at quarterback, so they shipped Bollinger to the Vikings last August.
Given a chance to play when starter Brad Johnson was pulled in a game against Chicago, Bollinger ended up getting injured.
This year the Vikings are expected to name second-year man Tarvaris Jackson the starter. But if Jackson's not ready or Bollinger has a strong preseason, he could well end up Minnesota's No. 1 quarterback.
"I'm excited about the opportunity, but it's not really for me to decide," he said. "I don't worry too much about it. I just prepare myself to go into camp as sharp as I can be mentally or physically and try to be consistent."
Bollinger said the NFL can be unpredictable, and his main goal is just to keep playing.
