There's a different kind of criteria for admission into this university.

Forget about cramming for SAT or ACT exams. Don't sweat about enrolling in honors courses to boost a grade point average. Extracurriculars are cool but not important. The main thing recruiters are looking for is a certain mindset — one that's determined to grow.

Of course, on-field nastiness is a prerequisite, as well. These players have that in spades.

The Athletic's Alec Lewis on Thursday uncovered what Minnesota's defensive line group has nicknamed themselves: "Young Nasty University" or "YNU" for short. It tracks, for sure.

Jalen Redmond (27 years old) is a star, Levi Drake Rodriguez (26) is on his way to becoming one, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (23) has made significant strides in his second season, Caleb Banks (23) has flashed rare traits and potential, and Domonique Orange (22) is teaching offenses about him. All are still developing. But at the same time, they are anchoring a fearsome defense that leads the NFL in blitz rate and has held teams to 3.8 yards per carry.

Teammates are taking notice.

"That group is a huge part of our success thus far," Vikings outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel commented. "Last year, after not stopping the run early, we put a huge emphasis on it. We've got young guys who are coachable, hard workers, and they do everything right."

The lead professor of YNU is Defensive Running Game Coordinator Ryan Nielsen, whom Gink' credited with setting rigorous standards for the fellas up front. Ingram-Dawkins added "[He] doesn't leave any breadcrumbs on the plate. … There's no gray area with anything."

Lewis' story revisits the discovery of Redmond and Rodriguez and explores the blending of personalities and the bond that the entire group is forming.

Here's one excerpt we particularly liked:

All of them invest in the others' promise. They support each other through their highs and lows. That's what real culture looks like in real time.

Take, for example, a moment after Sunday's victory over the Bears. While Rodriguez unwrapped a thick pad around his right hand, I asked him about Redmond's dominant showing.

"Jalen Redmond is a dog," Rodriguez said.

Redmond, sitting one locker over, overheard Rodriguez and looked over at him with some emotion in his eyes.

"That's my freaking brother," he said.

Click to read Lewis' full feature on the young d-linemen making a name for themselves.

Status check: passing attack

After two gritty performances, Carson Wentz is handing the baton back to Kyler Murray, who entered concussion protocol early in Minnesota's Week 1 victory.

The handoff to the Vikings starter could spark the passing game, which has taken a back seat during the team's seven-game winning streak, and really since the 2024 Week 18 letdown at Detroit. Five quarterbacks — Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, Max Brosmer and Murray — stood behind center during that stretch of 20 games and passed for 3,235 yards.

That's the second-fewest yards produced through the air in that span, behind the New York Jets (3,075).

Minnesota, however, has gone 11-9 across that period. Pittsburgh, also 11-9, is the only other club in the Bottom 10 for passing yards in the past 20 contests with a winning record.

Namely, it's a nod to the Vikings defense and special teams making game-altering plays. It's also a testament to the emergent run game. But, most of all, it's a credit to willpower.

Kevin Seifert of ESPN this week highlighted a few lines from Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's postgame speech shortly after Minnesota fended off Chicago and won 9-3 at Soldier Field.

The coach commended his team for "trying to figure out a way to find a way."

He added, "The only thing that matters is winning!"

In his story, Seifert analyzed O'Connell's recent methods to ensure Minnesota is on the wanted side of the W-L column. During his initial three seasons, O'Connell oversaw an attack built around Justin Jefferson that gained the third-most passing yards (12,886) through 2024 and deployed the league's fifth-lowest rate of designed running plays (35.3%).

The 2026 approach so far, which has been impacted by Murray's injury and anti-passing weather in Chicago includes a 50% designed run rate, tied with Seattle for the highest in the NFL (the Seahawks also lost their starting quarterback, Darnold, early in Week 1 and are 2-0 with Drew Lock as the primary distributor).

The tweaks haven't changed the collective's determination one bit, though.

"Of course I would love to have 150 [yards], three touchdowns and just the fantasy stat line," Jefferson said in Chicago. "I definitely would love that. But with these conditions, with this type of game, it wasn't that type of day, which is totally fine. As long as us coming off the ball, executing our plays and just being a factor in the win, that's all that matters.

"So just coming in here, difficult environment with the weather conditions, a lot of adversity in our way. It doesn't matter," Jefferson added. "We're just not going to really think about it."

The star receiver and the Vikings are going to keep leaning on each other and finding a way.

You can read Seifert's full story here.

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