Gavin Gerhardt, UC Bearcats center and captain, latest to join NFL Vikings

Cincinnati Bearcats fans may have to invest in some purple as yet another UC player was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.

Center and captain Gavin Gerhardt was selected in the seventh-round by the Vikings on Saturday, April 25. He now joins former UC teammates Jake Golday, Eric Wilson and Ivan Pace Jr. Golday was just drafted by the Vikings the day before in round two.

"I couldn't be happier to be a Viking and get to play with a couple past teammates of mine," Gerhardt said. "It's a dream come true. My phone was blowing up all day with every team you can think of with undrafted free agent deals and I was able to make it happen with the Vikings."

Gerhardt had visited several teams and was around Golday recently in Minnesota as well as knowing Pace Jr. well.

"I know him and his family," Gerhardt said of Pace. "With Jake (Golday) I was able to go with him. I bounced around pretty much every meeting he was in. We just kept switching meeting rooms with the head coach. We flew up there together and flew back together. It's going to be awesome to get to play with a guy like that."

As he has said in the past, UC head coach Scott Satterfield reacted on X with, "Best leader I have been around!"

Cincinnati Bearcats offensive linemen Gavin Gerhardt and Taran Tyo take the field at Kansas Sept. 27.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Gerhardt was a three-year captain, Honorable Mention Big 12 and on the watch lists for the Rimington and Wuerffel awards. From Xenia, Gerhardt was one of the rare Bearcats to have played for both Luke Fickell and Scott Satterfield, as his UC career began in 2020 with a redshirt. He had been a UC starter since 2022.