C.J. Mosley Becoming a Rookie

If you have ever played a down of football, or even if you haven't and you're just a football fanatic, then you know the feeling.  That dream that extends from someday being drafted into the NFL to making a championship-winning play.  Everyone has thought about it in one form or another.  Perhaps as a kid playing in the backyard, or watching a game with your buddies and reminiscing, "I had the talent; I just never got my shot."  It's a fantasy we've all had, but darn the luck....it just didn't happen.

Honestly, I can't personally imagine anything more gratifying in that career pursuit than hearing your name called by the commissioner.  Sure, day one would be fantastic, but who wouldn’t settle for day two with the very last pick and the infamy of being “Mr. Irrelevant?”  As a kid, and through high school and into college, it's a goal.  Some have the raw God-given talent and the NFL is a given. And some have to work harder, stay later, and put in all their effort to even be considered.  Yet everything you have dedicated yourself to comes down to one weekend.

How terrifying is it for a hopeful athlete to sit and stare at two days of the draft on television, and not here your name called round after round…after round?  For those fortunate enough to be invited to participate and be at the draft it is, no doubt, nerve racking.  Just ask Aaron Rodgers.  Still, you know you are a lock to be drafted.  Then you have the guys that have been talked about playing on Sunday's since maybe their sophomore or junior years.  Though they may slip a little in the draft, they know they are a day one lock.  Next we have that mid-round guy that is simply horrified to see his name slip to the 6th or 7th.  Last but not least, the athlete that is pretty much a lock to be drafted at some point and isn't.  Which we saw plenty of in this year’s draft.

Covering the game and the athletes as we do here at DraftBoardInsider.com, you can't help but get caught up in the whirlwind of the NFL draft.  We have profiled and interviewed player after player.  We have been to the Senior Bowl for a week to watch these young men that developed all year long.  It's tough to see one of the guys slip that you’ve talked to and followed all year…or maybe even worse than slip, fall completely out of the draft.  I know I personally was pulling for several guys to get their shot.  Some did, some did not.  It got me to thinking.  What exactly is it like to be in their shoes on draft day?  How does it feel to be one of these young men about to be drafted onto the football world’s greatest stage?  

I caught up with C.J. Mosley, DT from Missouri, drafted in the 6th round by the Minnesota Vikings.  I interviewed C.J. back in March about a month before the draft.  C.J. has been fantastic with us since the day I contacted him.  Always willing to help out or chime in with is thoughts.  I asked C.J. if he would take the time to answer a few questions about the draft and his experience with the whole process.

DraftBoardInsider.com: How much sleep did you get in the 2 or 3 days leading up to the draft? What was life like for you right up until draft day? 

C.J. Mosley:  I slept well, the one thing I wasn’t going to do was loose some sleep over the draft.

DBI: Tell me about day one of the draft.  What was going through your mind for those first 3 rounds?

C.J.:  I was pretty happy.  All of my friends I knew got chosen in those rounds.  Roddy White. Lofa Tatupa, Vincent Jackson, Kelvin Harden, J.J. Arrington, Ellis Hobbs, and Atiyyah Ellison.

DBI:  What were your emotions after day one ended and your name was not yet scrolling across the bottom? 

C.J.:  I was prepared for the worst, but I was disappointed.

DBI: What is the frustration level like? 

C.J.:  It was ridiculous.  I’m a worry free person.  So I try not to stress myself, but in something that means so much to you, you can’t help but worry.

DBI: Did teams contact you during the draft, maybe call to get more info on you?

C.J.:  Nope, the one and only phone call I received was in the 6^th round.

DBI:  When the phone call did come, what was that like? I mean, what is it REALLY like to know you have just been drafted into the NFL? 

C.J.:  When the phone call came, I was filled with an unseen level of happiness, and anger, and frustration.  I was just thinking it’s me against the world, and I’m going to make everyone who passed on me feel like they didn’t make a very wise decision.  I was hearing 3^rd and 4^th round at the worst, and I got picked in the 6^th.  I was just done mentally, because my dream almost got snatched from me…all the hard work, hours, blood, sweat, and tears.  It wasn’t until the next day that I realized I achieved my dream, and I was smiling again....See :)

DBI:  What was the first thing you had to do after being drafted?  Did you immediately have to go to Minnesota, had you met with team officials or been to the facilities? 

C.J.:  The first thing I had to do after being drafted was talk to some Vikings operations folks, choose my jersey number 96, and schedule my flight to Minnesota for mini camp.  The facilities are nice, and my teammates are a trip…the funniest guys in the nation. 

DBI: How has life changed for you since you have been drafted? 

C.J.:  Life hasn’t changed for me at all. This is the last level of football, and I’m very excited just to be here competing.  I can’t tell you what I’m going to do when I get my first sack of the NFL. 

Done mentally?  Wow I can only imagine.  It really was enjoyable to hear it first hand from the mouth of a man who had been there, just exactly what it was like to go through this – the highs and lows that come with the two day frustration that is the NFL draft.

Being the laid back guy that he is, he still couldn't help but stress about the draft.  It will break down even the toughest and mentally sound men.  Yet the elation of hearing your name called, even later than it should have been helps to override those anxieties. 

When I first contacted C.J. to talk about the draft, I wasn't too sure of how he would respond.  Most guys after doing an initial interview are done. They are too busy, and life has changed too drastically to take the time to follow up.  C.J. however was most gracious in helping us out responding with "I got the time for you man."  I told him he was a rare breed, in that most athletes consider themselves at a different level after being drafted. Not C.J., "I'm always real. I'm not that type of person. I don't let things go to my head."  So far he hasn't, and I don't believe it will.  C.J. is just grateful to be where he is. 

With no promises, I am working with C.J. on possibly doing an entire "Life As a Rookie" journal throughout the off-season, into training camp and beyond.  His whole life has changed however, and he has a lot of work ahead of him.  Hopefully we can get a few quotes or paragraphs from him from time to time on his journey as a rookie with the Minnesota Vikings.  C.J. thanks for the insights, and here's to a successful rookie season in the NFL and beyond.

Editor’s Note:  This article and interview with C.J. Mosley was completed before learning that, C.J. was excused from Vikings practice yesterday, August 16th, to attend his grandmother’s funeral.  Everyone at DraftBoardInsider.com offers our deepest sympathy and prayers to C.J. and his family.