Dan Mozes

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Dan Mozes
Free AgentNo. --
Center
Date of birth: September 15, 1983 (1983-09-15) (age 24)
Place of birth: Washington, Pennsylvania
Height:ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 290 lb (130 kg)
National Football League debut
No regular season or postseason appearances
Career history
College: West Virginia
Undrafted in 2007
 Teams:
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NFL.com

Daniel Mozes (born September 15, 1983 in Washington, Pennsylvania) is an American football player formerly of the Minnesota Vikings. In his college career at West Virginia University, Mozes is considered to be one of the greatest lineman to play for the Mountaineers. He and running back Steve Slaton (whom he blocked for) were the first pair of consensus All-Americans in school history. Although winning the Rimington Trophy his senior season, Mozes went undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, and was signed a day later by the Minnesota Vikings. Mozes was then cut on August 7, 2007.

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[edit] College career

Mozes was a four-year starter at West Virginia University. For the first two years of his career, Mozes played at left guard on the offensive line. In the middle of his junior year, Mozes moved to center. Mozes was a three time all Big East academic all-star (2003-2004-2005)[1].

[edit] Freshman (2002)

Mozes redshirted and saw no action the entire season. However, he still won the Danny Van Etten Award as top offensive rookie performer on WVU's scout teams[1].

[edit] Freshman (2003)

After redshirting a year, Mozes started every game his redshirt freshman season at left guard. During 2003, Mozes was named first-team All-Big East and became a freshman All-American while starting every game. He totaled 32 knockdowns and was the MVP against the University of Central Florida and Rutgers. Mozes won the Gridiron Gladiator Award from the WVU coaches for his play on-field. Mozes tallied a team high six knockdowns against the Miami Hurricanes and five against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Mozes suffered a hip sprain against the University of Pittsburgh. Mozes won MVP honors against the Wisconsin Badgers and was named rookie of the week against the University of Cincinnati[1].

[edit] Sophomore (2004)

Mozes was named First Team all-Big East, and started every game of the season[1]. Mozes was named All-Big East his sophomore season as well. Mozes also won academic all-Big East accolades[1].

[edit] Junior (2005)

During his junior year, Mozes started two games at left guard. For the game against the University of Maryland, Mozes was moved to center. Since that game, he started at that position. After totaling seven knockdowns, Mozes sprained his left ankle in the game against Cincinnati which put him in pain for the last three games of the season. Mozes was named Offensive MVP against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. Mozes was named 2005 Second-team All-American by the Associated Press. Mozes was also named first-team All-Big East for the second consecutive year, Rimington Trophy finalist, named to the ESPN All-Conference squad, and named to the All-ECAC squad[1].

[edit] Senior (2006)

As a senior, Mozes was named to the NCAA consensus All-American team and won the Rimington Trophy for the nation's best Center. [2] By winning the award, he became the first Mountaineer since 1916 (when awards were first handed out) to win a national award. Mozes was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy and a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award. Mozes led the way for the Mountaineers team that totaled over 3,600 yards rushing in 2006. Mozes' offensive line also was formidable in the passing game, where they only gave up 1.17 sacks per game (Mozes gave up no sacks). Mozes and the back he blocked for, Steve Slaton, were the only Big East players named to first-team All-American team, and they were the first pair of consensus All-Americans in school history. Mozes and Slaton were also the 10th and 11th players in school history to earn the honor[3].

On May 17, 2007, about a month after signing his deal with the Vikings in the NFL, Mozes won the 2007 Fred Schaus Captain's Award. The award is presented annually to the school's most outstanding varsity team captains[4].

[edit] Pro career

[edit] Pre-Draft

Mozes left West Virginia as a senior and expected to be a second-day pick in the 2007 NFL Draft[5]. During the Senior Bowl, Mozes did fairly well. During the practicing, a botched snap occurred between himself and Troy Smith, but it was not determined who caused the botch. On the 23rd during practice, Mozes reportedly "cheap shotted" defensive tackle Amobi Okoye on the neck, while on January 25th, Mozes was said to have been "blown by" by Okoye. Mozes started the game for the North side at center.

After the Senior Bowl, NFL Draft Countdown's Scott Wright reported that Mozes was the 9th prospect whose stock was slipping the most, saying "[He is a] Highly-decorated college player who lacks the physical tools for the next level."

ESPN reported that Mozes was their #8 Center in the '07 class. His effort was a big positive, while they worried about his size against NFL defenders. He was compared to Colts' center Jeff Saturday. Athlon Sports reported that Mozes was their eighth center in the class as well. They said his good smarts and instincts were a positive, while he struggles to get movement off the ball.

In an April 19th article from Sports Illustrated.com, writer Stewart Mandel picked Mozes as the most underrated offensive lineman in the class. Mandel said,"...Mozes was one of the nation's best. It's hard to believe he's not worthy of a selection somewhere over the course of seven rounds"[6].

[edit] NFL Draft

Mozes went undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft. He was signed a day after by the Minnesota Vikings.

[edit] NFL career

Dan Mozes checked into Gage Hall on July 25 for the start of the 2007 fall football camp. He completed his physical testing upon arrival and passed completely for the 2007 season. However, on August 6, 2007, Mozes tore his ACL on his right knee while making a block in practice. Mozes is expected to miss the entire 2007 season[7]. He was then place on Injured Reserve on August 8[8]. Mozes was waived by the Vikings on August 8, 2007. He is now attending the Vikings 2008 OTA's and with the absence of Matt Birk he is starting with the 1st team and trying to replace the all pro center.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Dan Mozes Mountaineer Profile. MSNSportsNet.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  2. ^ Mozes Wins Rimington. MSNSportsNet.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  3. ^ It's a Consensus!. MSNSportsNet.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  4. ^ Schaus Awards Bestowed. BlueGoldNews.com & Scout.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  5. ^ WVU's Mozes expects to go on NFL draft's second day. PittsburghLive.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  6. ^ Overrated/Underrated (cont.). SportsIllustrated.CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  7. ^ Former Mountaineer Dan Mozes Injured at NFL Training Camp. WBOY.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  8. ^ Minnesota Vikings Transactions - 2007. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.