Throughout his Florida State career, Derrick Nnadi was a load on the interior of the Seminoles’ defensive line. As Nnadi gets set to take the next step in his football career, he’ll be using his two strong arms to help out those with four legs.
A 4-year contributor and 3-year starter at defensive tackle for the Seminoles, Nnadi has teamed up with the Humane Society of the United States to raise funds for the nonprofit as he heads to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine.
As Nnadi gets set to take part in the bench press on Sunday, contributors can pledge funds for each rep of 225 pounds. According to his “Pledge It” page, Nnadi is estimating that he’ll do 25 reps.
“Of course I can do more,” Nnadi said in an email. “But I felt that would be a good number to get to for the cause.”
The Humane Society is an organization that “provide hands-on care and services to more than 100,000 animals each year and professionalizes the field through education and training for local organizations”. Nnadi was inspired to take part in the cause by a young American Bully named Rocky that he adopted eight months ago.
“See, when I first got Rocky, he wasn’t in the best condition mentally,” Nnadi said. “He was very timid; everything scared him. Whether it was objects, noises, or people, he was scared nonetheless. Heck, there were times that he wouldn’t want to leave his cage. When I first met with the breeder, he had Rocky and all his brothers and sisters in a dark room with barely any lighting. (The breeder) told me he isolates them from people, so that nobody could steal them. So in my mind, I knew I had to him away from there.”
Nnadi has had Rocky since the dog was 10 weeks old. Rocky will be 11 months old in March and in their short time together, Nnadi says the two have become best friends. Although Nnadi didn’t get Rocky from a shelter, he recognizes that there are dogs that hadn’t been treated well or with care prior to coming to the Humane Society.
“That’s kind of the reason I named him Rocky,” Nnadi said. “One part was because if someone he didn’t know tried to pet him, he would bob and weave. Another reason is because I wanted to give him a name that was strong, so it could in a sense, help him overcome his fears.”
At 6-foot-1 and 310 pounds, Nnadi is projected to go somewhere in the middle rounds of this year’s NFL Draft. Nnadi recorded 88 career tackles, including 24 for loss and 11.5 sacks during his FSU career, but his dogs has gotten to see the soft side of the Virginia Beach native that opposing offensive linemen never did.
“He has seen me at my highs, lows, and everything in between,” Nnadi said. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him and I got all the pictures and videos in the world to prove it. Getting him house broken, teaching him tricks, walks on walks on walks and all those trips to the park just to name a few.”
Although Rocky doesn’t quite have the name recognition that his owner does, he does have his own Instagram account and 10 followers. Nnadi’s effort at the NFL Combine will obviously be to impress scouts, but he noted that supporting a cause for the Humane Society could be extra motivation for pushing out an added repetition or two on the bench.
“I wanted to do this with the Humane Society, because I don’t want any animals to be treated badly as such,” Nnadi said. “More specifically, I have a soft side for pit bulls, because they get a bad rep for the all the wrong reasons. People say that they’re the wrong choice of breed to be around people or children but honestly, just like any pet, it depends on how it’s raised.”
Nnadi’s goal is to raise $3,000 for the Humane Society. View Nnadi’s Pledge It page to learn more. To make a 1-time donation or to donate per rep to Nnadi’s cause, click here.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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