NIU center Todd Ghilani was a second-team All-MAC selection his junior year and an Honorable Mention All-MAC this past season.

The 6-foot-4 Huskies center now has his sights set on the NFL, as he hopes to get drafted this weekend at the 69th NFL Draft at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Northern Star: Once you found out you guys weren’t going to a bowl game, were your thoughts immediately shifted to the draft?

Todd Ghilani: Not necessarily. My first focus was getting an agent because it’s a long, drawn-out process. Then, my second thought was to get in some of the senior bowls, and I got in two of them.

NS: If you get drafted, what team, would you ideally like to play for?

TG: I’m from Wisconsin, so that makes me a cheesehead. I’d love to play for the Packers. But I’d play for the Bears or anyone. I just want to play in the NFL.

NS: The offensive line doesn’t get much publicity. Did that ever bother you, not being as recognized as Michael Turner, P.J. Fleck or Randee Drew?

TG: It becomes a joke; it doesn’t even bother me. We wouldn’t be on the offensive line if we weren’t humble. We’ll give them crap, though, if they don’t give us our props. But the guys are pretty good at thanking the offensive line.

NS: How much did playing in the East-West Shrine and Gridiron Classic help you? You’re rated as the 10th best center in the draft right now.

TG: I think it boosted my stock way up. The knock on me was, “Well, who does he play against? He doesn’t play the defensive linemen that the Big Ten plays.” But you’re not invited to those games if you’re not a pro prospect. My agent told me after the game that a lot of scouts were impressed with my upper-body strength. I was able to hold my own out there with the best in the nation.

NS: What are your plans if the NFL dream falls through?

TG: I have one semester left at school and one semester left student teaching. I want to finish that because academics are important to me. I definitely would jump at the chance, though, to play in Europe. I talked to McAllister Collins and Chris Finlen (who graduated NIU in 2000 and ’01, respectively) about playing in Europe, but I wouldn’t play in the Arena League or the CFL. I would just cut my losses if the NFL and Europe fell through.