EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. –When Kentrell Brothers made his first regular-season tackle in an NFL game, all the nerves melted away.

The hit came during Minnesota's Week 8 division matchup at Chicago, when Brothers limited Cre'Von LeBlanc to a 6-yard punt return in the third quarter.

"I was nervous, for sure, but when I got out there and realized I could do my job, it became a lot easier and a lot smoother for me," Brothers recalled. "That first game is something I definitely won't forget."

Brothers has played on the Vikings special teams in the six games since then and has made a handful of important stops.

A linebacker who led the nation in tackles (152) at Mizzou, Brothers knew – and embraced – that special teams would initially be his main role in Minnesota.

Brothers spoke over the phone with Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer the night he was drafted in the fifth round.

"He was telling me I would be coming here as a Mike [linebacker], and to start off as a core special teams player," Brothers said. "When they activated me halfway through the season, I knew it would be for special teams. So I just took it, ran with it and made sure I did my job in whatever way I could to help us win."

It was that enthusiasm and hard-working mentality that stood out to Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer as the season got underway.

During the weeks that Brothers was inactive, he participated in practice on the scout team to help prepare active players for the upcoming opponent. Brothers focused on execution and technique in that role, and it paid off.

"Going on the scout team, you want to do it right," Brothers said. "When I was out there on scout team, I would do whatever I could to get to the ball, and we run some of the plays that other teams run sometimes, so being able to capitalize on the scout team helped me a lot."

Priefer said Brothers wasn't necessarily doing anything out of the ordinary but he was "doing his job at a high level."

"That's exactly what we ask these young men to do," Priefer said. "And I thought he did a really good job.

"We knew once we got a hold of him, once he was going to be on the active 46, then we were going to have somebody special," Priefer added. "Football is very important to him, and he's a good football player."

Brothers feels fortunate to be learning under the guise of Priefer, in his 15th NFL coaching season, as a first-year player. He said the biggest thing that stands out to him about Priefer's coaching style is his ability to teach technique.

Brothers added that Priefer's availability for the players is extremely beneficial.

"He doesn't hesitate to help us when we go to his office, want to watch film, anything like that," Brothers said. "And in some situations where we may not do the best, he always finds ways to either find the positive or tell us to remain positive so we continue getting better."

Now settling in and with seven special teams tackles spread across seven regular-season games, Brothers hopes to one day have his shot on the defense. Until then, however, he's excited about continuing to contribute on special teams.

"Once you go out on special teams and get a tackle, you start to get your confidence up," Brothers said. "Once I got that first game in, I started to study film more on both special teams and defense […] it's been very beneficial."