---

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Former Cal Poly linebacker Mark Restelli make a strong impression in his first professional football game Wednesday night, recording an interception and three tackles in the Edmonton Eskimos' 45-12 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a Canadian Football League preseason game Wednesday night.

"He did a good job," first-year Edmonton head coach Richie Hall told the Edmonton Journal.

"He had a pick, and when you look at those two linebackers, him and T.A. (Tumbo Abanikanda), they are a pretty good set battling at the (weakside) spot. They're two guys you're going to have hard time keeping off your roster.

"We say read slow, react fast and he was reacting fast," Hall added of Restelli.

Restelli notched two of his tackles on special teams. His pick was of highlight-reel quality, inside Saskatchewan's 10-yard line. Both Restelli and Rod Davis had a shot at the ball, but Restelli went underneath and flipped his teammate off his back before lugging the ball closer to the end zone.

"It was a weird pick," Restelli told the Edmonton Sun. "Somebody tipped it. I was dropping and one of the receivers was coming in and it kinda came into my belly. I would have loved to take that bring that one for six, though. When it went into my belly, my head was down.

"If my head was up, I might have gone into the end zone."

Click the links above for the full stories.

Restelli notched 267 career tackles in his four-year Mustang career, No. 9 all-time at Cal Poly. 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 never missed a game in his four-year Mustang career.