Mughelli attended Porter-Gaud School and a letterman in football, basketball, tennis, and track & field. In football, he rushed for more than 4,500 yards and scored 69 touchdowns during his career at Porter-Gaud, and he rushed for 2,167 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior. He was named the team's MVP for three years, was a three-time All-Conference selection, and as a senior, he was also named the State Player of the Year in his classification and was a Regional All-Star selection in all division. He also led the team to a state title in 1996 and state runner-up honors during his senior year in 1997 to Laurence Manning Academy 32–30.
College career
Mughelli attended Wake Forest University, where he was a letterman for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team. A fullback in college, Ovie was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection at that position. He started every game in his senior year as a Demon Deacon, coming in with the third highest rushing touchdown record in school history. He was rated the No. 1 fullback by USA Today.
Mughelli was selected with the 134th overall pick (fourth round) of the 2003 NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens; the choice was a compensatory pick.[2] He was the second fullback selected in Baltimore's franchise history (the first was Steve Lee in the sixth round of the 1997 NFL draft); he was also the first ever Wake Forest player selected by the team.
It was during the 2006 season that Mughelli recorded his first ever NFL touchdown. He also went all-Pro for the first time in his career.
Atlanta Falcons
In 2007, Mughelli signed with the Atlanta Falcons to block for running backsWarrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood. On March 2, Mughelli signed a 6-year, $18 million contract with a $5 million signing bonus.[3] The contract was the largest given to a fullback in NFL history at the time.
In 2010, Mughelli went all-Pro for the second time in his career, the first being in 2006, and was elected to his first ever Pro Bowl. He also recorded the fourth receiving touchdown of his career.