2022 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: AJ Wilson, OL, CSU Pueblo

• Name: AJ Wilson 
• Position: Offensive Line
• College: Colorado state University-Pueblo 
• Height: 6’3
• Weight: 308
• Twitter: @ajtw98wilson
• Instagram: @ajtw98

What makes you a top prospect at your position  in the 2022 NFL Draft?

• I feel I’m a top prospect because of my high work ethic and versatility across the whole Offensive line 

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

• I was first interested in football at the age of 6 when I came across a youth football league team looking for players outside if my local Walmart.

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

• NFL teams should know that I’m always willing to work and put my all into the game no matter what. 

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be? 

• One cause I would donate to is helping small churches in different cities, because sometimes people forget the little guy that’s just trying to help out there community.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

• The best advice I’ve ever received was from when I was in high school at student leadership conference one of the speakers said that the most important thing in life is to show up no matter what everything else can be worked out as long as you’re willing to show up and be present.

Who was your childhood hero?

• My childhood hero is my dad, growing up I always watched him have the ability to continuously learn new things for the benefit of others. And that’s something that’s stuck out to me my entire life. I try to model my thought process after what I’ve seen my dad do throughout my life.

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school?

• The most underrated teammate in the locker room is James Parker he’s a guy who is always willing to give everything he’s got to things he does in life. And a lot of times those things can go unnoticed by others. So it makes him a guy with a lot of integrity and for me I think that’s the best quality a guy can have.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

• My biggest pet peeve is a little weird. It really bothers me to leave doors open when no ones using them. I developed that pet peeve because my older sister loved to just rush into my room unannounced if the door was open and so now if a doors open it feels like some could come in and bother me when I’m just relaxing.

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome?

• Adversity is something that every human being goes through at some point. For me the hardest thing I’ve had to go through is losing both my great grandfather’s within the same year. One on Christmas day and the other in October. Up until that point I had never really experienced any deaths in my family and for both of them to be gone that quality hurt my soul like no other. It made feel as if I was missing apart of me. Dealing with that loss had taught me how to always hold my head high in any situation 

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

• CSU-Pueblo holds special place in my heart because the community there helped me to overcome challenges that I had never experienced on my own. They helped me to grow into man that has integrity and an understanding of how the world works.

What is your favorite snack food?

• I’m not really a big snack food guy, but if I had to choose one it would probably be shortbread cookies. Those things are addictive, they are the perfect size that you can go through a whole tin in less then a day.

What is the best part of football?

• The best part about football is the process it takes to get to play the game. It’s the only sport where practice with your teammates for days and months just for couple of  three hout opportunities. So the game itself teaches you how much work has to be put in to be successful.

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say?

• I would say that I am a hard working, dependable and reliable guy who will find a way to get the job done even if it doesn’t look to pretty.

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be?

• I’ve always thought of myself as a smaller Brandon Brooks, like when he gets his hands on a guy they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And I haven’t seen a lot of guys bull rush him because he’s pretty good at setting his anchor down. I also think it’s awesome that he learned martial arts to help him be better with his hands and power angles.

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why?

• If I could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, my first pick would be Reggie White. Growing up an Eagles fan and watching the tape of him demolish offensive lineman was great but I think the biggest thing that stands out to me was his faith in God and how he put it on display for all to see that’s something I really admire. My second pick would be Denzel Washington because that guy so humble and it shows. But he’s also has a ton of wisdom about life and I think it ne cool to pick his brain. My last pick would be the apostle Paul, because reading about the way he honored God in every way he could even at the cost of him self I would want to pick his brain about that.