Pitt's Brian O'Neill drafted in 2nd round by Vikings

Former Pitt offensive tackle Brian O'Neill will make the final transition of his celebrated career — from college standout to NFL second-round draft pick — after he was selected No. 62 overall Friday night by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL Draft.

O'Neill is the second Pitt offensive lineman taken by the Vikings in the past four drafts. T.J. Clemmings was a fourth-round pick in 2015.

Prior to hearing his name called, O'Neill's career took many positive turns made possible by his versatile athleticism.

He was a defensive end and tight end at Salesianum (Del.) School, when he came to Pitt in 2014. A year later, coach Pat Narduzzi predicted an NFL future for O'Neill when he moved him from tight end to tackle, a move made necessary by an injury to Jaryd Jones-Smith. But even if Jones-Smith had not torn up his knee in the offseason before the 2015 season, O'Neill's future was at offensive tackle.

He started the final 12 games in that redshirt freshman season and went on to make 26 more in a row in 2016 and '17 before declaring early for the draft. It's a move that forced a dramatic change in Pitt's offensive line, but it paid off for O'Neill.

At the NFL Combine, he ran the fastest time among offensive line in the 40-yard dash (4.80 seconds) and 3-cone drill (7.14).

“I think I put myself in a good spot,” said O'Neill, 22. “I wanted to show I'm the most athletic tackle in this class. I think I showed that, and I wanted to give teams a good representation of myself in the meetings. I think I did that.”

Narduzzi said O'Neill never hesistated in accepting the move to tackle.

“Through hard work, (O'Neill) made himself an All-ACC offensive lineman and now an NFL Draft pick,” Narduzzi said in a statement Friday night. “As good as he was at Pitt, I really think his best football is ahead of him. We are incredibly proud of Brian tonight.”

O'Neill, 6-foot-7, 297 pounds, was the leader of Pitt's offensive line in his final season, but he made a mark for himself before that as more than a mere blocker.

Twice in the 2016 season, he was given the opportunity to carry the football, running 24 yards for a touchdown on a throwback lateral play against Georgia Tech and scoring the tying touchdown against Virginia Tech on a 5-yard end-around. He was less adept at throwing the football, recording incompletions on two trick plays against Syracuse and Northwestern. Last season, he carried 10 yards to set up a tying touchdown late in the first half against N.C. State.

For his extraordinary efforts with a football in his arms, he was awarded the 2016 Piesman Trophy, given annually to a lineman who performs outside the norm in college football.

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.