Mark Restelli (born March 4, 1986) is a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who is currently a free agent. He most recently attended training camp with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He was signed by the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

as a street free agent in 2009 and played until he was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

in 2011. Despite a strong preseason (which included 4 tackles and a defended pass in the fourth quarter of the final preseason game versus the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

), on September 4, 2011, he was released by the Dolphins during their final roster cuts. On September 9, 2011, he announced that he would be resuming his football career in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Cal Poly Mustangs The Cal Poly Mustangs are the athletic teams representing California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. The university fields twenty-one teams and compete in NCAA Division I; they are primarily members of the Big West ...

College career

Restelli was a four-year starter at Cal Poly and never missed a game. He had 267 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Restelli ranks in the top ten lifetime in tackles at Cal Poly. In 2007, he was named Honorable Mention All- Great West. As a senior, he was named Defensive Team Captain. Restelli majored in agricultural business and viticulture.

Professional career

Edmonton Eskimos

Restelli signed with the

on April 29, 2009, after attending an Eskimos free-agent tryout camp in Long Beach, California. After the release of Derrick Doggett on June 10, Restelli's main competition for the starting

weakside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

spot was fellow import rookie

Tumbo Abanikanda Tokumbo "Tumbo" Abanikanda (pronounced: A-banna-conda) (born December 25, 1986) is a former professional American and Canadian football linebacker. He was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos as a street free agent in 2009. He played college football ...

. Restelli debuted for Edmonton on June 17 in a preseason game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders and recorded one tackle and an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

while Abanikanda recorded three tackles. Eskimos

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Richie Hall Richie Hall (born October 4, 1960) is the defensive coordinator for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was formerly the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos from 2009 to 2010. Early years Hall was born October 4, 1960, ...

has called Restelli and Abanikanda's battle the closest one in camp so far. Hall also stated that he hoped, "one player outperforms the other player" in Edmonton's next preseason game against the BC Lions on June 21." Eskimos

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Danny Maciocia Danny Maciocia (born May 26, 1967) is the head coach and general manager of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was previously head coach of the Université de Montréal Carabins football team. He is also the former g ...

said that Restelli "plays as if his hair is on fire." In his three seasons with the Eskimos Restelli recorded 74 defensive tackles, 21 special teams tackles, and 4 sacks.

Miami Dolphins

In January 2011, Restelli signed a contract with the

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He spent the training camp and preseason of the 2011 season playing on special teams. Despite a strong preseason performance (in the final preseason game versus the Dallas Cowboys, Restelli recorded four tackles and a defended pass), Restelli was released in the final round of cuts on September 3.

Return to the Edmonton Eskimos

Following his release by the Dolphins, Restelli returned to the

of the

. He spent the remainder of the

2011 CFL season The 2011 CFL season was the 58th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it was the 54th season of the Canadian Football League. The complete schedule was released on February 18 and featured the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal ...

as a backup linebacker.

Montreal Alouettes

On February 15, 2012, Mark Restelli became a free agent after playing out his option year for the Edmonton Eskimos. On February 21, 2012, the

announced that they had signed Restelli. On June 16, 2012, he was released by the Alouettes along with eight other players. Restelli was injured for most of Montreal's training camp.

Entrepreneur

Restelli retired from football in 2013 after a career-ending foot injury sustained during his time playing with the Dolphins. He underwent four surgeries over three years to get his foot back into functional shape.

Medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

played a critical role in his post-surgical recovery. Restelli continues to use

medical marijuana Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

and cannabidiol to treat a lifetime of sports injuries. He began his post-football career by starting a software company that serves this newly legal cannabis industry.

CannTrade

CannTrade is the Everythin
Cannabis
an
Hemp Marketplace
Platform. Established in 2016, CannTrade provides software tools that allow legal cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to better manage their supply chain. CannTrade's parent compan
Trimpakt Inc
was co-founded by Mark Restelli, Adam Holub, Brian Holub, and Drew Harmon.

Personal

Even though Restelli is from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, he claims that he does not surf. During the Edmonton Eskimos 2009 training camp, after being asked about it, Restelli responded: "You've got to be like the 10th person to ask it." Restelli's first football job came on the Santa Margarita Catholic High School football sidelines as a 10-year-old waterboy alongside future New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. Restelli and Sanchez played on the same Pop Warner team for three years. They shagged footballs on the Santa Margarita practice field for quarterback Carson Palmer, who went on to win the 2002 Heisman Trophy and become the top overall selection in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Restelli, Mark 1986 births Living people American players of Canadian football American football linebackers Canadian football linebackers Cal Poly Mustangs football players Edmonton Elks players Montreal Alouettes players Players of American football from Houston Players of Canadian football from Houston