ASHBURN, Va. -- The more Derrius Guice watched himself run, the more he saw similarities to a certain NFL running back. Once upon a time Guice was enamored with former running back Reggie Brooks. But the more Guice developed as a runner, the more he saw Marshawn Lynch.

That doesn't mean he'll become Beast Mode, Jr. Rather, Guice prefers this:

"2.0," Guice said.

The Washington Redskins would be happy if they found another Lynch, and Guice wasn't alone in seeing the similarities. People talking about it led to a relationship between Guice and Lynch, one that continues.

"I guess he's seen in reports a lot of comparisons between me and him, and in a lot of reports, people ask me who I model my game after and I always bring him up," Guice said. "He actually got his Beast Mode company to reach out to me and send me some of his gear and that's kind of how it kicked off. He sent me some Beast Mode gear and we've just been kicking it off ever since."

Guice was among the most discussed draft choices over the weekend, mainly because he was projected as possibly going late in the first round but instead went late in the second, 59th overall. As the past few weeks unfolded, complete with rumors about off-field issues, Lynch delivered him a simple message.

"Everything will play out how it should," Guice said he told him. "Just trust the process and always have faith to keep God first. Everything is always going to fall into place at the end. When your time comes, be ready to ball out."

Lynch also told him: "Stay humble, have faith and everything will play out."

Eleven years ago entering the draft, Lynch had similar numbers to Guice. A first-round pick by Buffalo, Lynch was 5-foot-11, 215 pounds and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds. Guice stands 5-foot-11, 224 pounds and ran the 40 in 4.49 seconds.

But it's about more than sharing similar stats.

"I'm a very physical, powerful runner that doesn't shy away from contact," Guice said. "I like to compare my game to Marshawn Lynch a lot. That's the big bro. I talk to him a lot and have gotten a lot of advice from him throughout this process as well. That's who I put my running style towards."

That running style can best be described in one word: angry. It's fueled Lynch's 10,003 career rushing yards. One NFC scout even called Guice a "Beast."

"I see angriness, man," Guice said at the combine of Lynch. "I see someone that refuses to go down. When I run I think about him every time and when I go back and watch him I'm like, 'I really like this dude.' It's crazy. Beast Mode reminds me a lot of myself."

The Redskins see that characteristic, too.

"This is a hard-nosed runner, plays hard," Redskins coach Jay Gruden said. "He's got some energy, now. Just bottle that up and let that unleash on Sundays, not so much on Thursdays and Fridays. But he's a fun guy to be around."

While Guice won't be eating Skittles for fuel on the sidelines, a la Lynch, the fact that he was the seventh running back selected certainly will drive him.

"That just bumps the notch up," he said. "I already ran angry. I'm going to run angrier than ever. It's going to be tough for teams to bring me down.

"It makes it 10 times worse. It's just a feeling that I have inside of me that I've already ran with since being little and I just feel like it's gotten 10 times worse now. I can't wait to be unleashed on the field."