Five Questions with Ovie Mughelli

Ovie Mughelli is the greatest fullback in the history of Wake Forest Football and one of the best in NFL history. After his senior season where he scored 12 touchdowns, Mughelli was drafted in the fourth round by the Baltimore Ravens to start his decade-long career as a professional football player. He was recently inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame. Mughelli joins us here for a Five Questions feature.

What were your thoughts about being inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame?
Mughelli: "The reason they put me in the Hall of Fame was not solely because of my stats but because of my team stats. My running back stats were excellent, and you saw a significant improvement in the run game after I came in. You could argue that many factors contributed, but very few things changed aside from the fullback position. The same offensive coordinator was there and mostly the same offensive line and tailback. I was pushing the code; I was more about power, formations, and explosions—let's go at these guys. I just had that "eye of the tiger" mentality and a nasty streak where I found joy in blocking. I enjoyed pancaking people. I remember there was one sign that read, "Pull out your bib. He's eating pancakes or making pancakes today. My goal was not just to hit opponents but to hit them so hard that their backs hit the ground."

What are your thoughts about the coaching change in the middle of your time at Wake Forest, going from Jim Caldwell to Jim Grobe?
Mughelli: "Coach Grobe is a different character; he was more reserved. Coach Caldwell was reserved too, but Coach Grobe was even more so, at least during his time at Wake and in his interactions with me. Both of those coaches have crazy character—integrity is part of who they are. They love their players and the game. It was important to them. You never felt like they took any opportunity for granted; they were committed to helping you be your absolute best. Jim Caldwell was a little more open to conversation, more receptive to suggestions about how we should approach things. Jim Grobe was more like, "I'm the captain now; we're doing things my way." And he earned that right. Both coaches created great teams."

What was it like to finish off your Wake Forest career with a Seattle Bowl victory over Oregon?
Mughelli: "They didn't think we deserved to be there; they were embarrassed to have to play against "lowly Wake Forest." Their fans were saying, "There's no chance Wake Forest survives this onslaught." This was mighty Oregon we're talking about. They had 18 different jerseys, all the money in the world from Nike, players like Ontario Smith, and a loaded roster, including a future teammate of mine with the Ravens. They were stacked with big players, and here we were, just Wake Forest. But we ended up beating them anyway, and it felt fantastic after all that trash talk."

What are some of your most memorable moments at Wake Forest?
Mughelli: "The first major one was my very first college game, which was terrifying, by the way, because of all the responsibility. In high school, I was the guy, but here I was, redshirting for an entire year, trying to learn how to play fullback, taking protein powder, working out, and doing my squats. We didn't really lift heavy in high school, so this was my first real experience with strength training, and my body hurt. When I got a chance to practice, I remember wondering if it was supposed to hurt this much playing fullback. What was going on? It took a while for me to get comfortable in my shoes and cleats.

"When we practiced against each other, we went hard, but we didn't push to the limit; we were careful not to hurt each other as teammates. The first time I was able to fully release all the limiters and really go hard, it felt like I was in a "Karate Kid" montage. I was lifting weights, bench pressing, doing single-leg squats, and running on the track, all while working on my endurance and drills. Then finally, on D-Day, it was game time—either Army or Navy. I'll need to double-check; I'm 44 now and that was when I was about 21."

What kind of pressure were you feeling in that game?
Mughelli: "I remember my parents being really nervous about the game. They were like, "Is he going to get kicked off the team if he doesn't perform well? Son, you better do well; they're paying $40,000 a year for your tuition. We don't have that." I told them, "Mom, just leave me alone. I'll be fine."

"During the game, I remember hitting these linebackers and feeling determined not to embarrass myself. We ran a power eye formation and went straight for the Mike linebacker—that's my favorite. I lined him up and knocked him down hard. I hit him so hard that he flew back, creating a sort of pancake effect. I wasn't on top of him, but I'd rather knock him down than just land on him. He rolled to the side and dusted himself off, saying, "I'm good." I thought, "Ooh, you're good? No, I think I'm the one who's good." I started smiling inside, thinking, "Oh, let's go!"

"That entire game felt fantastic. My pads felt great; the way they popped when I hit people felt satisfying. It made me realize that I could do this because I was so nervous and worried about letting people down. I didn't want to mess up and disappoint my teammates. I need to give credit to those guys because they were all seniors, and I was the only freshman—well, redshirt freshman—on the starting offense. Fabian Davis might have played a little my first year; we were the same age, but as far as starters, it was really just me. I didn't want to be the reason we messed up."

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