Vikings running back C.J. Ham talks with high school flag football players at a media day the Vikings hosted March 30 ahead of the spring season. (Cassidy Hettesheimer/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

In late March, Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips and fullback C.J. Ham stood in front of a group of over 100 flag football players gathered at the team’s training facilities in Eagan for a flag football media day. Microphones in hand, the pair bounced back and forth, fielding questions from the high school student-athletes on everything from their pregame routines to their college years.

The girls who crowded around, seated on the turf, could pocket the advice for their own football careers, which, for most, were just beginning.

On Sunday, 51 high school teams will kick off Minnesota’s most widespread push for flag football yet. Sponsored by the Vikings, the expanded league builds upon a four-team trial that ran last summer.

For more on the league, click here to read this story on startribune.com.