A combination of Ray Rice and Arian Foster.

That's how Giants first-round pick David Wilson described himself as a football player during an interview on WFAN this afternoon.

If the running back out of Virginia Tech can come close to those All-Pros then the Giants certainly achieved their goal of getting maximum value at No. 32 Thursday night.

"I think I'm a mix of Arian Foster and Ray Rice with the way he breaks tackles and Arian Foster sometimes makes something out of nothing and I'm always trying to get that extra yard when I'm on the field," Wilson said.

The stats proved he often tried and succeeded in getting those extra yards after he led the nation in yards after contact in 2011, his junior season.

He's listed at 5-9, though he said he's 5-10, but Wilson assured that he "plays bigger than what his stats say" when asked to give a scouting report of himself. Primarily a kick returner his first two seasons – a role he said he can take on at the NFL level -- because he was buried behind future NFL players Ryan Williams and Darren Evans on the depth chart, Wilson burst onto the national scene with a school-record 1,709 yards last season. He was subsequently named ACC MVP, ACC Offensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American.

"I never took a step back from when I first started playing football," he said. "It's always been excelling, excelling each year and getting better and better. I'm a student of the game and that's a good thing coming up there."

Known for his speed after doubling as a track star at Virginia Tech, concerns about Wilson, whom the Giants had ranked as the No. 2 running back on their board behind Trent Richardson, heading into the draft were ball security – he had seven fumbles last season -- and pass protection.

"I'm getting better and getting more physical," Wilson said when asked about pass protection. "I want to protect Eli [Manning]."

The questions were enough to make him a second-round possibility and he was aware of it.

"I was definitely hoping for the first round and I knew it was a slim chance that it was possible, but it wasn't like I was a top-10 pick or whatever so it was a slight chance I was going to get in the first round," he said.

But he did go in the first 32 and with Brandon Jacobs gone and Ahmad Bradshaw continuously battling a foot injury, Wilson recognizes that there's an opportunity for him to step in and contribute as a rookie.

"Ahmad Bradshaw's been there for a while and he has held his position pretty well," he said. "Coming up there, I'm looking forward to competing with him and we're both going to be making plays and making the team better.

The Giants are "a special team and coming in and having an opportunity to contribute at some point during the season, whether it's right away or here and there, whenever I get my opportunity to do whatever I'm going to take it and try to make a name for myself."

Jorge Castillo: jcastillo@starledger.com; twitter.com/jorgeccastillo