Muhlenberg College sophomore offensive tackle Bryan Auvil has noticed the great play from opposing offensive lines throughout his college football career.

But while he certainly felt he was playing well in his second season as a member of the Mules' offensive line, his selection as an All-Centennial Conference First Team member was a surprise to Auvil.

"It was a huge surprise," Auvil said. "I didn't expect it at all. I felt like I played pretty well this season and played consistently, but I didn't really think I stood out or anything."

Auvil, a 2012 graduate of Emmaus High School, was voted by the conference's coaches as one of 11 different Mules to be awarded with All-CC honors. Of the five first-team selections, Auvil was the only sophomore. The other five were juniors.

Compared to the other four All-CC First Team selections on the offensive line, Auvil is the only sophomore. The other four- Johns Hopkins' Vincenzo Bonaddio, Armand Jenifer, and Ben Cranston, as well as Franklin and Marshall's Sam Dickinson-are senior selections.

"To be named on a list with those guys is a huge honor," Auvil said.

It took Auvil a couple of games during his freshman season to break into his starting role, but once given that opportunity, he hasn't looked back.

Auvil was inserted into the lineup against Gettysburg College in Week 6 of his freshman season. He has started in every game since, including all 11 for the Mules (8-3 overall; 7-2 in the Centennial Conference) this season. He was a part of an offensive line that led the team to a six-game winning streak in conference play to end the season, and was a vital part to the offense scoring 34.3 points per game.

"I'm really fortunate, and I got really lucky to get a chance to play as a freshman," Auvil said. "That doesn't really happen very often. I didn't really expect it at all. It just kind of fell into place, and I ended up getting a shot halfway through my freshman year."

While he was given an early opportunity on the Mules' line, Auvil understands that he wouldn't be where he is without his coaches along the way.

Auvil expressed his gratitude toward current Muhlenberg offensive line coach Tom Perkovich and former Emmaus offensive line coach Keith Brader.

Auvil has been a key piece in a number of big games for the Mules. But one of Auvil's more memorable experiences came during his freshman season in the Mules' 24-17 win in overtime over Ursinus College.

"It was a couple games after I started playing," Auvil said. "It ended up being one of the hardest [and] most physical games I've played in. It was a battle the whole way, and they were real big and physical.

"In the fourth quarter, our senior captain quarterback got hurt, and the backup came in and took us down the field. We ended up going into overtime, and ended up winning in overtime, which is awesome."

There's been a lot more that Auvil has had to adjust to during his first two collegiate seasons compared to his time at Emmaus.

He's off to a tremendous start to his career, but understands he is learning more every day, and expressed the mental aspect of the collegiate game.

"More mentally than anything, there's so much more to know," Auvil said. "There's way more defenses to know how to block and so many more blitzes. The game seems to move a lot faster."

Auvil was also nominated Academic All-District and Academic All-American.