Nicholas Saldiveri (; born August 14, 2000) is an American football

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for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). 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 ...

at Old Dominion and was selected by the Saints in the fourth round (103rd overall) of the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

Early years

Saldiveri was born on August 14, 2000, in Waxhaw, North Carolina. His father died when he was two and his mother had to work multiple jobs to support him and his half-brother. Originally from

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

, his mother moved the family to North Carolina when he was seven. He did not play

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until he was 11 as his size and height were too great for Pop Warner leagues. He began playing the sport in middle school before attending Parkwood High School in

Monroe, North Carolina Monroe is a city in and the county seat of Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population increased from 32,797 in 2010 to 34,551 in 2020. It is within the rapidly growing Charlotte metropolitan area. Monroe has a council-manager f ...

. In addition to football at Parkwood, Saldiveri also played basketball and performed in discus and

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. Despite being named all-conference, he was ranked a two-star prospect and did not receive many offers. He was noticed by an assistant coach at Old Dominion University and was given a scholarship offer, which he accepted.

College career

Saldiveri redshirted as a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

at Old Dominion in 2018, only appearing in three games. He appeared on a total of 85 snaps switching between

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and right tackle, not allowing a single quarterback hurry. He became a full-time starter the following year, appearing in 11 games while allowing 22 hurries, two quarterback hits and four sacks. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Saldiveri returned in 2021 and started all 13 games at right tackle, being named honorable mention all-

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

while allowing 13 hurries, two hits and five sacks. He also helped lead the Monarchs to a bowl game appearance in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, after closing out the regular season with 5 straight wins. Saldiveri started 11 games in 2022, 10 at right tackle and the other at right guard, allowing 16 hurries, three hits and no sacks while earning second-team all-conference honors. He was also named a team captain by his peers. Saldiveri played in the

2023 Senior Bowl The 2023 Senior Bowl was a college football all-star game played on February 4, 2023, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The game featured prospects for the 2023 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL), predominantly ...

after the season.

Professional career

Saldiveri was a top-ten performer at his position class in the 2023 NFL Combine in the vertical jump, broad jump and

20-yard shuttle The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

drills. Saldiveri was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round (103rd overall) of the

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bioOld Dominion Monarchs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saldiveri, Nick 2000 births Living people American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Players of American football from Florida Players of American football from Union County, North Carolina Old Dominion Monarchs football players People from Waxhaw, North Carolina New Orleans Saints players