Brandon Mosley was the only player from Auburn to be selected in the NFL Draft. He was chosen in the fourth round as the 23rd offensive lineman picked.
At 6-6, 310 pounds, the native of Jefferson, Ga. was named to the coaches' second-team All-SEC team. Mosley played at Auburn for two years after playing at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
JH: You had a good combine, running a 5.21 40-yard dash and completed 30 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. How did you prepare for the combine leading up to the draft?
BM: Well, I went down to Arizona and trained at Athletes' Performance. It really is a great program from top to bottom. They had me doing a lot of performance stuff, put me on a nutrition plan and kept up with my body fat, letting me know what I needed to gain or lose. It got me in top shape for the combine. It was also nice being down there with a lot of the other lineman that were in the draft. The competition really helped.
JH: What was the draft experience like, especially after that first day?
BM: I was told that I would be drafted in the third to fifth rounds. After the first two rounds I got really excited. I watched the whole third round and started to get anxious so I tried to avoid watching any more. That didn't help because I still had no phone call. So I went back to watching it, it was hard to stay away. I lay down to rest a bit and not soon after got a phone call asking me if I wanted to be a New York Giant. I have never been so exited in my life. It was a dream come true.
JH: Have you talked to Josh Harris, Neiko Thorpe, A.J. Greene or Eltoro Freeman who have been picked up in free agency? What are some of the thoughts and feelings shared between you all as you prepare for the NFL?
BM: I have contacted all of them a couple of times. We are all pretty much eager to get with our teams and get started. For me, I really want to start learning the offensive playbook and the same goes for the guys on defense.
JH: After the draft, Giants general manager Jerry Reese compared your knowledge and skill to David Diehl. What does that comparison mean to you, since Diehl has moved from guard to tackle and started every game since 2003?
BM: It's awesome to be mentioned in the same sentence as him. He is a great player and I take it as a compliment, but he has been in the league for so long and done so many great things at the top level. It is hard for me to compare our two bodies of work. I look forward to hopefully being his teammate. He has a lot of knowledge and I have a lot to learn from him.
JH: In a post-draft press conference, head coach Tom Coughlin said, "He may be a guy that can handle learning both guard and tackle right away so we look forward to that." What are your feelings on learning both positions?
BM: As long as I get a chance to get on the field I will do whatever it takes. If they want me to learn tackle, I learn tackle. The same goes for guard. I want to do whatever they need me to do to help the team as well as myself be successful.
JH: How will the move you made from DL to OL two years ago help you adapt to the NFL and the possibility of learning two positions?
BM: Playing on the other side of the ball has given me somewhat of an advantage. I know a lot of defensive schemes and stunts that defensive lineman try to pull. So reading what they are going to do is a bit easier for me. But like I said, it doesn't matter where they want me to play; I am going to do whatever it takes.
JH: The league has recently cracked down on player safety, especially dangerous hits on quarterbacks. With that in mind, how special will it be protecting a quarterback like Eli Manning?
BM: It has been awesome watching him play behind center. He does a good job orchestrating the game. I have blocked for some exceptional athletes here at Auburn and given the chance I will look to do the same in New York. Eli is a great player and having the chance to block for him is unreal.
JH: What are some of your goals for your first year in the NFL?
BM: First and foremost I want to make the team. I am not trying to look too much farther than that. I want to get in there and focus on learning some new plays. From there I look to do everything I can to get a spot. Down the road, in two or three years, I want to be a starter, but for now I first need to get on the field.
With Mosley's selection, Auburn has had at least one offensive lineman drafted in six of the last seven years. The others were Marcus McNeill, Ben Grubbs, King Dunlap, Tyrone Green and Lee Ziemba.
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