Former Eskimo, Cal Poly Mustang signs with NFL Dolphins

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Former Cal Poly linebacker Mark Restelli has signed a futures contract with the Miami Dolphins, according to sportsnet.ca. According to Mark’s father, Tom Restelli, the contract is for three years.

Restelli, expected to be a safety and also play on special teams with Miami, has played the last two seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He missed much of the 2010 CFL season after suffering a knee injury in Week 2, returning to the roster Oct. 16 against the B.C. Lions.

A futures contract means Restelli, who has 4.4 to 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash, will train with the Dolphins in the offseason until a collective bargaining agreement is struck between the NFL’s owners and the players association.

Contract details with the Dolphins have not yet been released, but Restelli’s deal likely will be worth the league minimum. The Dolphins now have 56 players on their 80-man offseason roster, not including their 16 free agents with expiring contracts.

Restelli played in six games with the Eskimos in 2010 and recorded 16 tackles. He suffered a knee injury in the second game of the season and was placed on the CFL’s nine-game injured list.

In 2009, his rookie season, Restelli tallied 58 tackles in 17 starts.

Restelli, who is listed at 6-2 and 215 pounds, played his college ball at Cal Poly, where he was an honorable mention All-Great West selection as a junior in 2007.

In 44 starts for the Mustangs from 2005-08, Restelli racked up 267 tackles (16.5 for lost yardage), three sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble, three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 14 passes defended and one blocked kick in 46 games (44 starts).

His 267 career tackles is No. 10 on Cal Poly’s all-time career tackles list.

As a senior, Restelli was third in tackles with 54 and also recorded five pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, one interception and one fumble recovery.

Restelli, who intercepted three passes in his Mustang career, was Cal Poly’s top tackler as a junior in 2007 with 73 stops (40 solo). He also had four pass breakups, three quarterback hurries, a blocked field goal, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery which he returned 33 yards to set up a touchdown at Texas State.

Restelli had 57 tackles as a sophomore and returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown against Weber State. As a redshirt freshman in 2005, he was third on the team with 83 total tackles, including a career-high 12 tackles against both Northern Colorado and Texas State. He intercepted a pass in the Southern Utah game.

Restelli, a graduate of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Orange County, never missed a game in his four-year Mustang career.

After going undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft, Restelli signed with Edmonton.

Cal Poly has three other players currently under NFL contracts — linebacker Chros Gocong with the Cleveland Browns and wide receiver Ramses Barden and cornerback Courtney Brown, both with the New York Giants.

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