2021 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Anthony DiDonato, FB, Notre Dame College

• Name: Anthony DiDonato
• Height: 5’10
• Weight: 230
• Position: Fullback
• College: Notre Dame College 
• Twitter: @DiDo__41

What is the best restaurant in your hometown city? 

• I would have to say Antonio’s. It has great pizza and it has amazing Italian food. It’s the closets place that taste like authentic Italian food.  

When breaking down your film what will stick out? 

• What sticks out about me is my strength and my body position when I’m blocking someone. I feel like I win most my battles from me being stronger than the other person and being in the right body position. Another thing about me you’ll notice on film is that I play to the echo of the whistle. You never know if you let your block go that person can be the difference to a play. 

If you won the lotto, what is the first thing you would do with the money? 

• The first thing I’m doing is making sure my parents are set for life. I don’t want my dad to work another day in his life. They always supported through everything and if I have the opportunity to repay them like that, I’ll do in a second. 

What has been your biggest failure? 

• My biggest fail I would say was losing that game againstValdosta. I just feel like I could’ve done more to help my team to get the win and that’s from a practice point of view and a game point of view. I know we left something on that field that could have gotten us to the National Championship. 

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

• My teammates would say my best quality is my strength. I’m the strongest on the team and that’s what my image is when people look at me. Another qualities that people also see in me is my lead by example and then is my football IQ.

Who is the hardest working teammate on your team?

• The hardest worker on the team is Jaleel McLaughlin. I have never seen a person work as hard as that man. He’s earned everything that has been given to him. I’m honored to say he is my teammate. 

Check out NFL Draft Diamonds 2021 Small School Rankings

Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?

• Yes, my nickname is DiDo. It’s a shorter version of my last name and my friend group when I was younger we had two Anthony, so we had to have nicknames or it would get real confusing.

What is your degree in, if you do not make it as a football player, what is your dream job? 

• My degree is in business management with minor in coaching. If being a football player doesn’t work out I want to be a D1 head coach one day. I have a good attention to detail and I feel like I have a good leadership skill that will help me get there.

What is your coolest life moment? 

• My coolest life moment is winning our schools first conference championship and also it being my first championship made even sweeter. Just seeing all of our hard work pay off and all the adversity we had to fight through. That feeling when those double zero hit was something I have never felt before. 

What song would you sing at Karaoke night? 

• If I had to choose a song I would choose a song it would be ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ by Journey. It’s a great karaoke song and who doesn’t like that song. It’s upbeat and its gets the people going. 

If you could pick any actor to play you in a movie, who are you picking? 

• Mark Wahlberg for sure. I love all the movies he’s in. I also think we are the same person. An Italian guy that’s funny and likes to work out a lot. 

Who is your favorite football team? 

• My hometown team the Cleveland Browns. I’ve been a die-hard fan since I was a little kid. When I was like 10 years old I used to throw fits when they lost. So lets just say I wasn’t a happy camper on a lot of Sundays in football season but I’ll always sticks by their side no matter what because that’s my team and always will be. 

If you had a warning label, what would yours say?

• Make sure I’m fed because I will get hangry if I’m hungry for too long. 

What is your biggest fear? 

• Is letting my family down. All I want to do is make them proud in everything I do. If they’re proud of me then no other opinion matters at the end of the day. 

Who is the most underrated player in the NFL? 

• Since I’m a fullback I’m going to be a little bias but I would have to say Patrick Ricard. Obviously, people saw what the ravens offense and if you watch deeper in the film he was a huge factor in that offense for the run game. Some of those huge runs don’t break if he misses those blocks. 

Take us through game day, How do you prepare? 

• I wake up and I take a shower. A shower makes me feel fresh and it clears my mind. After that I pack my bag and I go to breakfast. I eat a small breakfast just to have something in my system. I go to the locker room and double check I have everything. Then I go to the pre-game prayer service where the priest gives an amazing message every time and it just hits home. Last and finally I get dressed, make sure everything is fitting right then we go on a Falcon walk where we walk past the tailgate. It gives you a little bit more motivated and happy to see your loved ones there ready to cheer you on to victory. 

Do you have any hobbies? 

• Making highlight tapes for my team. It’s just something that grew on me because I love football and it’s like making art work with football clips. Then seeing my teammates reactions after they see it is a great feeling to me. 

If you had to compare yourself to someone in the NFL, who would that be? 

• I would say Anthony Sherman. We are the same exact size and we play in kind of the same type of offense. We are both hard nose, stocky fullbacks that like to hit people. We get the ball on the 1 yard line and we score.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?

•My biggest influence is for sure my dad. He worked his way up from nothing and made something of himself. He proved a lot of people wrong and he’s the hardest working man I know. He’s invested so much into my life that one day I hope I can give it all back and some because he deserves it. Also that’s where I get my ambition from. I never seen that man take a day off in his life or not give everything he does 100 percent. He is my  remodel and I am proud to call him my father.

What motivates you to work hard?

• Its mixture of making my loved ones proud of me and proving the haters wrong. I know the people that were with me since day one and have never doubted me. When I train I just think that I can’t let them down, so I have to work harder than the next person. Then my whole life I’ve been hated on and I hate when people tell me I can’t do something. All I’ve been in life is hated on and all I’ve done is prove people wrong. So why can’t I keep doing that doing that now.