At age 23, Sal Cannella is ready to make his mark on two major fronts.
The St. Viator and Auburn graduate is merging football and fashion this spring. Just a few weeks ahead of the NFL draft, he was preparing to launch his own clothing line.
Cannella, a 6-foot-5, 243-pound tight end, said NNellaDesigns.com should launch in the second week of April.
“The hardest part for me at first was trying to balance everything,” Cannella said. “But I feel I’ve always had a lot on my plate. When I’m working out, I’m focusing on that. When I’m working on the clothing stuff, I’m focused on that. I don’t let one take me off the grind of another, and neither is a distraction.”
Cannella has changed a lot since playing alongside Notre Dame standout Cole Kmet at St. Viator. He’s bigger, has long hair and a thick beard and has added a few tattoos as well.
“When I get pretty close to people, they always want to see what I looked like before ‘the hair,'” he said.
Cannella also has built a reputation as an NFL prospect. His flair for the dramatic includes highlight-reel catches. His father, Cosimo Cannella, said Sal always made a point to challenge himself and stand out among the crowd.
“As your kids get older, you chose your arguments,” Cosimo Cannella said. “His first tattoo was when he was a junior (at St. Viator), and then his hair started growing out and he had to put it in a bun. He’s always been different, but he’s such a hard worker. He won’t be outworked. He’s strong-willed and has always been very mature.”
Currently training in Arizona, Sal Cannella said he was happy with his showing at Auburn’s pro day on March 6. Although Cannella played tight end at Scottsdale Community College, he played almost exclusively at wide receiver during his three years at Auburn. He put on 20 pounds before his pro day and projects as an NFL tight end.
Cannella said the coronavirus pandemic forced him to adjust his training.
“I was working out from 9 a.m to 4 or 5 p.m., before coronavirus came out, at EXOS in Arizona,” he said. “What’s really slowed down and affected me the most in the last month is not having all the physical therapy, stretching, treatment, massages, cupping and dry needling I got from EXOS. But I’ve been in contact with trainers, and they’ve told me what to do, so my training is a part that has not changed at all.”
Cannella said he’s been in contact with a few NFL teams, but he’s not worried about being selected in the NFL draft. His degree is in apparel design, and he said he debated whether to delay his clothing line because of the coronavirus pandemic. His publicist encouraged him to stay the course.
He described the line as “high-end streetwear,” and his plan is to open with two shirts and two hoodies. His pre-order inventory sold out in about a day.
Cannella said he designed all the clothes, all the way down to picking the exact sizing and fabric.
“It’s as basic of a design that’s ever going to be now to start off and get on board, but later you are going to see my true style come out,” he said.
Cannella said he is most proud of earning a scholarship at Auburn and graduating. As for what’s next, he said, “Football is the main thing. I’ll put football stuff over the clothing line.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
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