By Dan Parr
Dec. 10, 2007

The Falcons are preparing to pull off a prime-time upset on "Monday Night Football" as they face off against the Saints, who must win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Falcons FB Ovie Mughelli, who became the highest-paid fullback in the league ($18 million, six years) when he signed with Atlanta in the offseason after four solid seasons with the Ravens, spoke with PFW last week about his commitment to community service, the health of former NFL players and his team’s struggles this season.

Mughelli, whose Ovie Mughelli Project's goal is to improve the quality of life for underprivileged youth in his hometown of Charleston, S.C., plus Baltimore, Md. and Atlanta, Ga., was named Falcons Man of the Year on Nov. 14 and is a nominee for the league’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. The winner will be announced at the Super Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 3.

PFW: What has motivated you to give back to the community you grew up in, Charleston, S.C.?

Mughelli: I haven’t seen a strong presence from NFL guys coming back and giving back to their community. I know that if I was in middle school or high school and had an NFL player come back, it wouldn’t matter what he said, I’d be interested to see what he was talking about. I figured I could be that guy. I decided to start a football camp and educational workshop and, after doing it one time, I just enjoyed the kids’ reaction so much that I’ve been doing it for the last two years.

PFW: What goes on at the camp and how long is it?

Mughelli: It’s two days (in July). We lure the kids in with all the fun and games, meeting the NFL players, autographs, good food. We close the doors, lock them, and start talking to the kids about school, about bettering themselves, about becoming a better person.

PFW: What’s in the works for next year’s camp?

Mughelli: We’re trying to bring some more aspects, different areas of the career world to them. Everyone has your doctor, your lawyer, firefighter, policeman. We’re trying to introduce some different things, like being an engineer or teacher, just to broaden the kids’ horizons. There’s a reason to go to college, no matter what they’re interested in, they can get further their education and really go far in their field.

PFW: What was your childhood like? What did your parents do?

Mughelli: My dad is an OB/GYN and my mom has her master’s degree in business. She ran my dad’s office. She was the head nurse, head secretary, and head accountant. It was a family business of sorts.

PFW: You’re interested in medicine as well, right?

Mughelli: I’m interested in medicine, I just don’t want to take over my dad’s job. I can’t do that. His hours are crazy. … If I got into medicine, it would be more on the pediatrician side.

PFW: Where does the name ‘Ovie’ come from?

Mughelli: It means king where my parents are from (in Nigeria).

PFW: That’s a lot to live up to when you have a name like that.

Mughelli: Yeah, it is. My father always said, ‘Mughelli is a No. 1 mantra.’ He always believes if someone can do something, there’s no reason that you can’t as well. I always complained if I didn’t get an ‘A’ on a test. He said ‘Well, were there any kids who got ‘A’s?’. I said ‘yeah, a couple kids got ‘A’s.’ He said ‘well, if they can do it, you can do it.’ That’s how he looked at things with school, football, and anything I got involved in. That helped me get the competitive spirit I have now.

PFW: The health of former NFL players has been in the news a lot recently. Chiefs OT Kyle Turley donated one of his paychecks to Mike Ditka’s “Gridiron Greats” foundation, which helps NFL retirees who struggle to cover the cost of their medical bills. What’s your take on that? Is this an issue that needs to be addressed more by current players?

Mughelli: I definitely think more should be done. There’s no reason these guys should be suffering from injuries they got from the NFL and they turn to the NFL for help and the NFL says ‘we’ve got nothing for you, we’ve got no money, we can’t assist you.’ I think that’s terrible.

PFW: Has this season been frustrating for you, coming from a playoff team in Baltimore last year to the 3-9 Falcons?

Mughelli: It has been frustrating. This is not what I came here to do. This is not what anyone came here to do. It’s very unexpected and frustrating, especially knowing that we’re capable of winning games, knowing that if we play our game we can be one of the top teams in our division. With the injuries and everything else that has gone on this season, it just hasn’t worked out for us.

PFW: How’s your relationship with (Falcons coach) Bobby Petrino?

Mughelli: Our relationship on the field is fine. It’s just at the point where he wants to win so bad that you don’t want to be the reason that he thinks that the team didn’t win. Everybody knows they’re being evaluated, everybody’s trying to give their all, no matter if we’re 13-0 or 3-9 because we want Coach to know that we haven’t given up. Me and Coach have a fine relationship. I want to be in the game more. We’ve been in a lot of situations where we have to throw the ball and I have to take more of a backseat role. But when he calls your number, you have to be ready to play.

PFW: What do you think of his offensive scheme?

Mughelli: I think he has a great offensive scheme. When you execute it, we move the ball, we get first downs, we get touchdowns. We just need to execute the plays.

PFW: Has there been much talk in the locker room about Petrino’s future and whether he’ll be back next year?

Mughelli: That’s really coming from the outside. You’re about the second person who I’ve heard that from, as far as him not being here next year. Coach is committed to this team and it would be unfair to judge him on this season alone after all that has happened. I think next season he’s going to come back with even more of a hunger, as will the players who come back, because they’ll want to win even more. We’re going to show this organization and the NFL that this year was a fluke.

PFW: How much did having Michael Vick as the quarterback in Atlanta have to do with you going there?

Mughelli: It definitely factored into my decision. … It’s very rare you find a quarterback that talented. Part of being an NFL football player is being able to adapt to any situation. The situation we have now doesn’t include Mike. I wish him all the best, but we have to keep on playing football.