When long snapper Avery Salerno left Jackson State after two seasons with the Tigers and entered the transfer portal, he was thinking about life after football.
When he weighed his options, “it was more about the educational side of it,” he said.
“Jack State didn’t have my major and I talked to the coaches about it and they respected it, had my back,” Salerno said.
Public administration is why Salerno committed to the Arizona Wildcats last week, becoming the second long snapper to join the Wildcats, along with All-American Broden Molen from Montana. Arizona “had exactly what I wanted in the masters program,” Salerno said.
“That was the most important thing,” he added. “The coaches were phenomenal and I wanted to go to a program that was on the rise and a team that I could help win immediately. ... I wanted to make an impact on the team immediately and help them win.”
Salerno, a 6-2, 200-pound Clemmons, North Carolina native, is striving for two pathways after he’s done playing football: working for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and coaching football. Salerno has “a lot of family friends involved in (Homeland Security) and it just always caught my eye growing up,” he said.
“It has always been an interesting thing to me,” Salerno said. “They’re not CIA or FBI, they’re guys who aren’t in the spotlight and are behind the scenes. They get all the dirty work done and it’s always been interesting to me.”
Salerno said “it usually takes two years to get hired by Homeland Security.”
“During that time, I want to get into coaching,” said Salerno. “If my eligibility runs out sooner than what we want, they’re going to help me find a (graduate assistant) spot somewhere or find a spot on the staff at Arizona. ... I lived in North Carolina, so I’ve helped a lot of kids long snap. Over the last few years, I fell in love with it.
“I didn’t see myself coaching until I started helping these kids. It brought a different type of feeling and I’ve never felt this type of feeling before. I want to see where I can take that.”
Salerno played the last two seasons at Jackson State in the post-Deion Sanders era after starting his career at Chowan University, a Division II program in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.
Jackson State transfer long snapper Avery Salerno committed to the Arizona Wildcats in April.
Salerno joined “Spears & Ali” on ESPN Tucson this past week to talk about joining Arizona, his long-snapping journey and playing at Jackson State.
How was your official visit to the UA last week?
A: “I love it. I grew up with 100% humidity almost every single day. When I was walking around campus, I never felt so hot but so cool at the same time. That was awesome. I had an amazing visit. I love the coaching staff and I just fell in love on the spot.”
How was it getting to know first-year special teams coordinator Craig Naivar and what kind of coach is he?
A: “From what I’ve seen, when it matters most, he’s going to be a calm level. But when he needs to turn it up, he turns it up and I love that. Growing up, the coaches who had the most energy stood out to me and helped me more and developed me as a player. I’m excited that he’s coaching me.”
How did you become a long snapper?
A: “I was forced into it growing up. My dad (Tony Salerno) was a long snapper at Florida State in the Bobby Bowden era, so I was thrown into that role during Pop Warner. I started taking it serious around eighth or ninth grade. I played linebacker throughout high school, but it became a world of its own after my junior year. I started to get recruited for linebacker and long snapper. Here we are.”
How much did your father influence your long-snapping journey?
A: “He’s been in my corner my whole life. He has pushed me to be where I’m at today and I’m forever grateful for it. He’s had the experience of playing at the level I wanted to be at. He was a great mentor and I couldn’t have asked for a better dad.”
Have you had any blunders or memorable snaps in a crucial point of a game?
A: “I’ve been blessed to say I haven’t had many bad snaps, but my last bad snap was probably in high school. We were in the playoffs and we were down by a touchdown. The worst feeling of my life was when I snapped the ball and I started running, I hear the crowd going nuts. I was like, ‘Why are they going nuts, he doesn’t even have the ball yet?’ I turn around and it’s in the back of the end zone. I was like, ‘Ah, jeez.’”
Tell us about your hometown of Clemmons, North Carolina.
A: “Small-town vibe. Everyone knows each other. The whole town will shut down (for a game). We have a small, little stadium but we usually fit about 4,000 or 5,000 per game. It was a great environment to be around.”
Outside of playing football, what did you do growing up in Clemmons, North Carolina?
A: “We either fish or we work out.”
What kind of fish?
A: “A lot of largemouth bass. I started dating this girl at Jackson (State) and I’ve been doing a lot more deep-sea fishing. I won’t be doing deep-sea fishing at Arizona, so I gotta find myself a lake.”
How was it being at Jackson State during the post-Coach Prime era?
A: “Walking in, everyone had high expectations. We had a first-year head coach in T.C. Taylor and he basically had to restart, because just about everybody left. We got a few players to stay, but we had to restart. Everyone thought it was going to be the same product, but it was not. We didn’t have the same players. That first year didn’t go how we wanted. The fans didn’t turn on us, but they were discouraged. ... T.C. Taylor finally got the players he wanted for the second season and we won the HBCU national championship.
“It was an amazing experience. We got to play in the Atlanta Falcons stadium in front of 40,000 people. To win an HBCU national championship and bring it home to Jackson, it was a great feeling. It was a great feeling to see the fans celebrate with us and walk with us through all of the trials and errors.”
How was the culture at Jackson State during your time there?
A: “The first thing I heard on my recruiting visit was, ‘You gotta listen to the marching band.’ It is something else. The culture wasn’t much different than any other college campus. It was a great environment and everybody was really nice. I never had any problems over there. The fans are amazing and the city of Jackson falls behind the university. When (the football team) is doing good, the city is doing good. They love to take care of their players.”
As a southerner, what’s your favorite southern food and what’s one food you’ll miss?
A: “I’m basic. I love me a nice steak, a big ol’ ribeye. One thing that shocked me when I went over there, I got over to Arizona and I asked for a sweet tea. They didn’t give me a sweet tea, I got something called an iced tea.”
