UCLA products Kendricks and Barr tackle linebacker assignments on stingy Vikings defense
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Eric Kendricks, middle linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings, didn't always see himself directing traffic for a smothering NFC North defense.
For a brief period, he fancied himself more Tony Hawk than A.J. Hawk.
Kendricks, a rough-and-tumble kid growing up in Fresno, Calif., loved football but dabbled in skateboarding too. That pretty much came to an end during the summer after his freshman year in high school, when he took a memorable spill after sailing off a concrete staircase - all captured on video by his buddy.
"I snapped my skateboard and rolled my
