Letroy Guion 'excited' for bigger role

Letroy Guion has been anointed the Vikings next starter at nose tackle, a critical position for the Vikings in their Tampa-2 system.

Consistent with that role, Guion has been taking all of the first team snaps at starter and has been looking more focused in drills this year than he seemed to have displayed on the field in 2011. We were able to grab him for a few moments for a quick interview.

When asked about his consistency issues, Guion readily acknowledged that this was a serious problem last season, and will focus specifically to improve on his streakiness.

"[I'm going] to focus more ... study harder ... and hopefully that'll take care of the consistency problems."

Coaches seem to be holding him to this standard, and Vikings fans can be optimistic about his drive going into the season.

More after the jump.

When asked about his best game of the season, the young nose tackle mentioned the Chicago game in Week 17 as his standout performance. Guion and I agreed about this performance and we were able to go over what about that game let him stand out.

His ability to attack the A-gap stood out to both of us, and he acknowledged this allowed other players to make big plays.

He's not settling for that performance, however. If he had his way, all of his games will be better than the good performance he had against Chicago.

"I did a lot of great things in that last game. I think this year, I want to be better than that," he said. "There were some great things in that last game, but I want to transfer that into this year and do more."

When asked about whether or not he feels pressure from backup defensive tackle Fred Evans, Guion conceded that Evans is pushing him, but isn't letting it interfere with their relationship.

"[We have a] really good relationship. We're really close friends. I'm looking forward to him backing me up and coming in when I get tired, [I] won't hesitate to do that," he stressed. "I don't have a problem with Fred being my backup, I actually love it because [he and I] are very very close friends."

Guion is excited about the starter position, and knows the heavy responsibility that being a starter at nose tackle, both on the field and off of it.

The Florida State grad expects to step up and perform and vows to draw more double teams while still making plays. Not only that, he'll be important in the locker room.

"I think I have a better leadership role ahead of me coming. I have to step up and take care of responsibilities as they appear."

The biggest challenge for him, though, is living up to Pat Williams and "what they expect [him] to do." He's got some big shoes to fill, and he expects he's up for the job.

Fans across Vikings nation wish him luck.