The summer of an NFLquarterback is a quick one. But in the case of Brooks Bollinger, not too short to give a little something back.

Minnesota Vikings training camp is coming up fast, but Bollinger will be taking some of his free time to head back to his hometown of Grand Forks. Starting Sunday Bollinger will be running his quarterback and receiver school at the University of North Dakota.

The camp, now in its fourth year, is something Bollinger says he loves doing, in large part because he gets to work with his father, Rob. The elder Bollinger has a wealth of coaching experience, including at Bismarck State College and as offensive coordinator at UND.

"It's a lot of fun," Bollinger said. "It's something that, as you get older, my summer's pretty short. 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."

The Bollingers limit the number of participants in the camp so they can give the high schoolers plenty of attention and hands-on training.

"When we started it, what we talked about is trying to give the kids one-on-one time with the coaches and individual teaching," Bollinger explained.

"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."

North Dakota roots

If anybody should have a good idea what North Dakota high schoolers need to learn about football, it's Bollinger. After all, it wasn't that long ago that the 27-year-old was in their shoes, playing for Grand Forks Central High School.

Bollinger was certainly an outstanding all-around athlete, good enough that the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the 2000 Major League Baseball draft.

But in high school, Bollinger says the NFLseemed like it was a million miles away. In fact he went to only one game before he actually was playing in the league.

Instead, 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 Iwas younger."

On Wisconsin

It wasn't long before Bollinger was a college quarterback himself. Not only did he earn a spot at Wisconsin, a Division Ipower, but he found himself thrust into the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman.

When starter Scott Kavanaugh went down with an injury in Wisconsin's 1999 game against Michigan, Bollinger helped the Badgers nearly pull off a come-from-behind upset.

After that, aided by Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ron Dayne, the Badgers won eight straight, including a 17-9 Rose Bowl triumph over Stanford. Bollinger was named Big Ten freshman of the year.

"It was like a whirlwind,"Bollinger said. "Playing in the Rose Bowl was pretty cool, and everything that came with it, on and off the field."

In 2000 the Badgers went 8-4, capping the season with a win over Hawaii in the Sun Bowl. But Bollinger's junior year was a tough one, as Bollinger was plagued by injuries and the Badgers struggled to a 5-7 mark.

Bollinger bounced back his senior year, leading Wisconsin to an 8-6 record. He capped off his career in grand fashion, leading the Badgers to a come-from-behind 31-28 overtime win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl.

"That was a fun way to end my career, a thrilling game,"Bollinger said.

New York, New York

Even though Bollinger posted a 30-12 record as a starter and finished second in school history with 5,627 yards and 38 touchdown passes, he didn't think much of his NFLchances.

It wasn't until his strength coach told him he ought to start working for the league's combine that he gave it much thought. But evidently the New York Jets saw something in him, picking Bollinger in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL draft.

Bollinger didn't play at all as a rookie and got into just one game in 2004. But when the Jets' quarterbacks began falling like dominos in 2005, he again found himself suddenly in a starting role. This time in the center of a New York media frenzy.

"(New York) was tough to get used to. It's a little different than North Dakota or Madison," Bollinger said. "It was a bit of a culture shock, but I really liked it. The media is tough, but it's such a big market, they always have something else to scrutinize."

Although the Jets struggled to a 2-7 mark with Bollinger as starter, he put up respectable numbers. Bollingers completed 150 of 266 passes for 1,558 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

Closer to home

Even though he had a solid preseason in 2006, the Jets had a logjam at quarterback, so New York shipped Bollinger to the Vikings last August.

Although Bollinger didn't grow up a Vikings' fan - he says he didn't really root for any one team - he was excited about the prospect of playing in Minnesota.

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."

That's the kind of attitude that's gotten him this far.

"I've got a lot of goals, but really I don't try to get too caught up in it," Bollinger said. "It's hard in this business to look too far down the road. It's so unpredictable.

"I'm just trying to focus on what I need to do make myself better," he added. "My main goal is just to keep playing."