EAGAN, Minn. — And Gavin makes four … and a half?

The Vikings circled a center with the 235^th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, selecting Gavin Gerhardt out of Cincinnati.

If you're keeping track, that makes four players on Minnesota's roster — LBs Eric Wilson, Ivan Pace, Jr., and 2026 draft selection Jake Golday — who joined the Vikings from the Bearcats plus guard Joe Huber, who started his collegiate career at Cincinnati before transferring to Wisconsin.

"That's awesome," Gerhardt told Twin Cities media members via a virtual call Saturday evening. "Cincinnati truly means a lot to me. That's a place that will forever be in my heart.

"I know quite a few familiar faces there and really looking forward to being teammates again," added Gerhardt, who overlapped with Pace and of course Golday.

Gerhardt started 49 of 54 career games for the Bearcats, a six-season run from 2020-25.

The 49 starts are the most at center by any Bearcat and are tied for third in program history at all positions.

Gerhardt, 24, will reunite with Golday, who had been Gerhardt's teammate for the past two seasons.

In 2025, Gerhardt started all 13 games and helped the Bearcats o-line win Big 12 Line of the Week honors three times.

He visited Minnesota earlier this month for a Top 30 visit and left feeling incredibly positive about the experience and the organization.

"[The coaches] were just genuine, good human beings," Gerhardt said. "Obviously I think highly of them coaching-wise, but they were all very good people. People that cared about me as a human being — and that's what I care most about, other human beings. Obviously, I think I'm a good football player, but me as a human being, I think that's my greatest quality. I really strive to be just like my father and be that man everyone can lean on. That's the vibe I got when I was there in Minnesota from the coaching staff."

Gerhardt spent ample time during that visit with Vikings offensive line coach Keith Carter both in the "classroom" and on the field. Carter walked Gerhardt and a couple other OL prospects through an install session, then later took it to the grass for a walk-through.

"Being able to get that information a couple hours earlier and then go out there on the field and see how I was able to recoup it, how I remembered it, that was unique to me [in the pre-draft process]," Gerhardt said. "I know the Vikings put a lot on the center, and a lot of NFL franchises do, and I'm looking forward to that. Something I do take a lot of pride in is knowing as much as I can."

Reflecting over his college career, Gerhardt noted his third season as the point in time he felt most confident and recognized the NFL as a potential reality.

Even though he never planned to play center.

"That's not something I came into college to do, really," he explained, smiling. "I came in to be a guard, and then they switched me over to center after my second season. After being able to learn a new system with a new coaching staff and then also learning how to make all the calls as a center, that's when I became the most comfortable and realized I could potentially do it at the next level."

Preparing to step into that next chapter, Gerhardt acknowledges the challenge of coming in as a seventh-round selection but balances that reality with self-confidence in his abilities.

"I understand I'm a new guy to the franchise and to the team, but I also have the mindset that I'm going to come in and earn a position," he said. "I believe in myself very much … and I come in willing to do whatever it takes to fight for a spot and make sure the Vikings know they made the right pick."

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