MINNEAPOLIS -- Say this for new Minnesota Vikings guard Alex Boone: He knows how to win a press conference.

The former San Francisco 49ers guard, who officially signed a four-year, $26.8 million deal with the Vikings on Thursday, said he told his agent he wanted to play for "Minnesota over everybody" once the Vikings showed interest in him.

"I love this division, and I love the atmosphere around here," Boone said in a conference call Thursday. "I've got friends on the team, and they've all said the same thing: Great locker room, great guys, great coaches, great organization, from the top-down. And these are guys that I trust, so I believe them. And when I found out they were interested, my agent actually called everybody and said, 'If you're deadlocked, he's going to go to Minnesota and be in the cold -- over Miami, anywhere.' This is the place. This is the division. I'm excited about this. Hopefully we'll get some cold outside games, and some big games."

Boone, who shifted from right guard to left guard for the 49ers last year, said the left side is his best position, though he added he'd play either spot "or center if you needed me to, honestly."

"It's just opposite footwork -- that's really about it. I've done it so many times in my career that it's really kind of natural. I think the more you think about it, the more you hurt yourself. You kind of just go out and do it."

Boone had a chance to meet Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is in the Twin Cities for a charity hunting event this week. "I can say that after five minutes of meeting him, I already love him," Boone said. "I'm going to do everything I can to protect him. I think it's just the fact he's just a normal guy. You see so many guys in this league that, they're kind of prima donnas. He doesn't seem like that. He seems like a good guy; he gave me a hug, told me he was excited I was here, and I believed him. He's one of those guys that, he's always so calm in the storm. So to actually get to meet him and kind of talk to him a little bit was really cool."

And what of his 2013 exchange with Clay Matthews, when Boone said he wanted to punch the Green Bay Packers linebacker in the face after a late hit on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick?

"Now how did I know that question was going to come up?" Boone deadpanned.

"Clay’s a good guy. I talked to him after the game last time (in 2015). What happens between the lines is strictly violent; I’m a full, firm believer in that. When we’re out there between the lines, it’s full-go -- to the whistle, maybe to the echo of the end of the whistle, however it happens. I'm excited to be in this division, because I believe this is one of the top divisions. Growing up, the NFC North was always the toughest, meanest, nastiest guys. I feel like I was born to be in this division, and now I'm excited to be in it. To play the Bears, the Lions, the Packers, it’s going to be a lot of fun, whether it’s here or there.”

Boone said his reputation as a nasty player is "fair, as long as they don't call me dirty." And the source of his mean streak is?

"My grandma,” he said. “She’s a pistol, now -- Noreen Sulzer. She's full-blooded Irish. She's crazy. I love her.”