Francis Mauigoa: Facing Rueben Bain, Akheem Mesidor in practice made me who I am

Miami tackle Francis Mauigoa squared off against a lot of good players over the course of his college career, but he thinks some of the toughest competition he faced came on the practice field.

Mauigoa is considered one of the top prospects in this year's class and two of his Miami teammates are also high on many lists around the league. Edge rushers Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor have impressed scouts and Mauigoa said at the Scouting Combine that working against them during practice sessions is a big reason why he developed into the stalwart blocker he became with the Hurricanes.

"Nobody comes close to what we got," Mauigoa said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN.com. "I mean, Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor, they gave me all the work. They built who I am right now."

Mauigoa played right tackle at Miami, but there's been some thought that he could wind up at guard in the NFL. Mauigoa said he's spoken to teams about that and said he worked reps at guard while in school in order to help prepare himself to play anywhere a team might want him at the professional level.