IT’S been six months since Adam Gotsis’ name was called in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Now settled into his new Rocky Mountain home, at the halfway point of his rookie season the Aussie Broncos defensive lineman spoke to Fox Sports Australia about his experience in Denver.

Gotsis arrived in Colorado in the final stages of rehabilitation on an ACL injury suffered in his senior year at Georgia Tech. Most pundits didn’t expect him to be picked so early in the draft. But with Broncos legend and general manager John Elway as well as head coach Gary Kubiak excited by his raw potential, Gotsis became the highest ever Australian selection in the NFL draft and inked a four-year contract worth US$3.9 million (A$5.4 million).

Laurie Horesh, Melanie Dinjaski and Patrick Stack are joined by Aussie Denver Broncos defensive lineman Adam Gotsis, and recover from Week 7’s unbelievable overtime mayhem, celebrate the rise of the Chargers, and ask is Miami’s record-breaker Jay Ajayi for real?

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With four years of college football under his belt before entering the league, Gotsis is no stranger to life in the States. However try as you might to take the boy out of Australia, it’s a little harder to take Australia out of the boy.

Gotsis still misses the humble meat pie, an icy VB from an esky, and he doesn’t need to be asked twice about whether he prefers footy shorts over NFL tights, but no matter his Aussie Rules roots not even the MCG can match the fortress that is Mile High Stadium.

“The MCG is a home field for about eight teams so there’s no real home ground advantage when you play there, but you come to Mile High it’s rocking with 75,000 every time, and it's all Denver,” Gotsis told Fox Sports Australia’s NFL podcast, Hard Count.

“It’s one of the harder places to come into and play. I love the fans and the way they get behind the team is just awesome.”

One of the things that makes Mile High such a dreaded destination for visiting teams is also one of the biggest mental and physical challenges Gotsis has had to overcome since moving to Denver.

Their home ground, Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, sits at 5,280 feet (1.6km) above sea level.

“When I first got here and we had summer workouts, you could definitely feel the fatigue catch on a lot quicker. You’d just start your workout and be out of breath,” Gotsis said of the high altitude location.

“It’s definitely an advantage to live out here and train out here everyday and you see it when teams play against us at home, come the fourth quarter they’re out there sucking for wind and we still have our legs.

“It’s tough to get used to but once you’re here it becomes normal.”

Helping him in the transition to the pros has been a close-knit but lively Broncos locker room littered with future Hall-of-Fame talent.

As a member of the fearsome Broncos defence Gotsis attends team meetings sitting alongside the likes of Derek Wolfe, DeMarcus Ware, and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller, who has served as both a mentor to the rookie in football and in social media.

“Von [Miller], he’s always posting snapchats and joking around. That’s the type of guy he is, he knows when it’s football and when to have a good time,” Gotsis said.

“When we’re on the field it’s all business but they’re people outside of that, so it’s good to have a laugh.”

There, as with most successful sporting teams, lies the beauty of the Broncos.

The team is forged on a “do your job” mentality. Players do whatever is necessary to help get the win. But they also make sure there’s time to bond over a hard fought game of Connect Four or debate who has the flyest game day threads. It’s a brotherhood, and fostering those relationships within a locker room is almost as important as knowing the playbook.

The defending Super Bowl champions have been tested this year though. They’ve had a young quarterback in Trevor Siemian thrust into the starting job and a handful of injury hiccups on the way to a 5-2 win-loss record. The most consistent performer has been their defence and as a result the team has turned to their stable of defensive studs to set the tone, a job Gotsis hasn’t shied away from despite his limited defensive snaps (54). In fact, he’s hungry for more action.

“Hopefully I can get a bit more playing time,” Gotsis said.

“It’s a battle everyday, there’s competition in our room.”

With three tackles in seven games, he resists the urge to look too closely at the stats, instead opting to listen to the wiser heads around him.

“You look at the wins and losses, you don’t look at so-and-so had five tackles, so-and-so had ten tackles,” Gotsis said.

“Stay patient and good things happen.

“You go from college where you feel like you can make every play and I’m sure D-Ware [DeMarcus Ware] and Von [Miller] have that mentality, they can get to the quarterback any time they want, but coming in, you’re young.

“Just know your piece in the puzzle on defence and good things will happen.

“I’m not too sure what a successful season looks like right now, I’m just going out there and playing hard.”

Gotsis has certainly come a long way from playing in Victoria’s gridiron league for the Monash Warriors.

Though he’s yet to land his first NFL sack and celebrations are increasingly under fire from the league, Gotsis hinted at a neat little salute to countryman Lleyton Hewitt when he does eventually steamroll his first NFL quarterback.

“It might be a spur of the moment thing. Maybe a little ‘C'mon’,” he said.

Yep, you can take the boy out of Australia, but you can’t take Australia out of the boy.