As football coach at Virginia Union University, Alvin Parker estimates he receives “about 300 emails a day.”

One email last winter stood out from the others.

It was from a person he didn’t know (Mathias Nielsen) and from a place he knew next to nothing about (Gentofte, Denmark).

Coach Parker’s eyes grew big from what he saw in a fast-action video.

One thing led to another and now that same Nielsen, who is 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds and a 20-year-old freshman, is the Panthers’ starting left offensive tackle.

To VUU foes, he’s become the “Nordic Nightmare.” Nielson is part of a crunching line that has helped the Panthers gain 229 yards rushing and 364 yards total offense per.

“Mathias is doing a great job,” Coach Parker said. “He’s started every game for us, and we look for him to be a four-year starter.”

Nielsen grew up near the Danish capital of Copenhagen and participated in soccer, karate, motor sports and martial arts before discovering “American football.”

He began playing football about six years ago on various youth teams. That led to a position on the Elite U-19 Soellerod Gold Diggers, where he won conference MVP.

“I wanted to play U.S. football and emailed coaches,” he said. “I had read about Virginia Union’s success and wanted to be a part of it.”

He added, “I’m lucky to be here.”

Nielsen accepted a scholarship offer with VUU last Febru- ary, and accompanied by several family members, arrived in the U.S. for the first time in July.

There was nothing “iffy” about it.

“I had made up my mind I was coming to school here before we ever left Denmark,” recalled Nielsen.

Richmond is six times zones and more than 4,000 miles from his homeland. Social media makes it seem closer.

Combating any signs of homesickness, the marketing major communicates daily with his friends and family via Messenger.

Nielsen’s first game was against Morehouse College in the HBCU Hall of Fame Classic in Canton, Ohio.

His folks back in Northern Europe watched the Panthers’ victory on the NFL Network.

Wearing jersey No. 57 in maroon and steel, Nielsen says he kept up with NFL football while in Denmark, but that “the games come on about 2 in the morning ... mostly we watched the Super Bowl.”

Nielsen says becoming acclimated to American food has been his biggest adjustment. He lives in a dormitory on campus and eats most of his meals in the VUU cafeteria.

“You like to fry things,” he told a reporter, who’s never seen a french fry he didn’t want to munch.

The language has been no problem, although he admits to “mumbling a bit.”

“In Denmark we tend to say the first part of a word and drop the rest,” said Nielsen, who is fluent in English.

Danish and German are the official languages of Denmark. An HBCU, VUU has had white players before, mostly kickers, including one (punter Paul Jones) from Australia. The current place kicker is All-CIAA Brady Myers from Florida.

“We’ve got a contact overseas,” Coach Parker said. “That’s something I started when I was coaching at Elizabeth City.

“It’s mostly resulted in punters and place kickers.”

But not in this case. Nielsen is a super-sized powerhouse on the offensive line with down- the-road pro aspirations.

Off to a 5-1 start, VUU is eyeing its first CIAA championship since 2001 and a return to the NCAA playoffs. There is always a long list of reasons for success.

For VUU, opening emails belongs on that list.