[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]It will be an odd sight for fans around Wisconsin to deal with. After a year of watching the Badgers’ Erasmus James embarrass offensive tackles and harass opposing quarterbacks while donning the cardinal and white, Badger fans must prepare to see the former UW defensive end in a new light.

The Minnesota Vikings chose James with the 18th selection in the National Football League draft Saturday afternoon. After years of enjoying the cheers of Wisconsin fans, James must now prepare to face their jeers as he heads to a team that is one of the top rivals to the Green Bay Packers.

Yet James doesn’t seem to mind. Answering questions via teleconference after his selection Saturday afternoon, James said he possesses no qualms about hitting the state of Wisconsin’s ultimate fan favorite, Packer quarterback Brett Favre, when Sundays come around.

“No, not at all,” James said from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Saturday on his way to Minneapolis. “I don’t take any appointments. It’s kind of a walk-in operation.”

A few weeks ago seeing James on the field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on a regular basis seemed far from likely. While Minnesota did also hold the No. 7 pick, the consensus remained that the Vikings would use that selection to replace departed All-Pro receiver Randy Moss. The Vikings proved the speculation true when they selected South Carolina wideout Troy Williamson at No. 7.

But James was never supposed to fall to the No. 18 spot Saturday. Once considered the top defensive end in the draft, as well as a top-10 selection, James himself could scarcely believe he fell as far as he did.

“It was a little bit of a wait, I anticipated I was going to go earlier,” said James. “A couple of times I thought maybe I was going to go. I thought maybe to Detroit and maybe to San Diego and I definitely thought Kansas City and they didn’t end up taking me so I definitely knew it was Minnesota.”

But when Vikings head coach Mike Tice called, James knew he his inclination was right.

“No one called me ahead, just minutes before [the pick], coach called and asked ‘Was I ready to be a Viking?'” James said.

“‘Yes sir, I am,'” was the defensive end’s response.

James said he had visited with Minnesota earlier this year but had not visited the team since.

“I went out there and had a long conversation, they didn’t think I was going to be there at 18,” James said. “[But] when I was there at 18 they said they had to take me.”

James will join a vastly improved Minnesota defense this season. After finishing last season 28th in the league, allowing 368 yards per game, Minnesota has already added several veterans, including safety Darren Sharper, cornerback Fred Smoot, linebackers Sam Cowart and Napoleon Harris and defensive tackle Pat Williams.

James, a Pembroke Pines, Fla., native, also joins several young starters on the defensive front for Minnesota. In the past three years Minnesota has placed a premium on defensive linemen, drafting Kevin Williams in 2003, Kenechi Udeze in 2004 and now James in 2005.

“I’m just happy I got picked up and put in a position to be with a group of young guys, good guys, in Minnesota.” James said. “They’ve got a lot of guys on the line right now that have proven themselves last year so I’m just looking to get out there and contribute.”

After practicing at both linebacker and defensive end for most of the pre-draft workouts, James’ contributions will come at the defensive-end spot with the Vikings, who will look to James to strengthen a pass rush that could muster only 36 sacks last season.

Part of James’ fall in the draft can be attributed to a lacking consensus on the former UW player’s position. The resurgence of the 3-4 defense in the NFL this season led several scouts and general managers to evaluate James at both positions.

“Some people said I could play outside linebacker,” James said. “People have varying styles of various defenses so there’s nothing I can do about that.”

James has endured months of scrutiny since the end of his senior season. The most frequent query was about the health of James’ hip, which many teams questioned following the severe injury prior to his senior season. But James answered those questions with several MRIs that showed his hip was in good shape.

After months of being poked, prodded and evaluated by scouts, James is just happy the journey is over and he can get back to focusing on football or, more succinctly, the Minnesota Vikings.

“I’m just really happy it’s over with,” James said. “Just put myself in a good position to play for the Minnesota Vikings.”