Nearly two months have passed since Sal Lupoli Jr. opted to attend a pro day at Boston College just days removed from a game with the Massachusetts Pirates.
The move still doesn’t feel any less dicey than it did when Lupoli’s whatever-it-takes mentality was brought to yet another crossroads in his journey of reaching the National Football League.
But it certainly paid dividends. After impressing NFL brass at the pro day in March — and developing a strong roll of film with the Pirates — Lupoli received a phone call from New England Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf following the NFL Draft.
The Chelmsford native was invited to attend last weekend’s rookie minicamp, which was held from Friday-Sunday in Foxboro with recently drafted rookies and select invites.
“It was a total risky move,” Lupoli said of his BC pro day. “There wasn’t a riskier move that I probably made in my career.”
The commitment to showcase his abilities in front of NFL scouts presented a lot of upside. But his decision to attend freshly removed from his first football game in over 14 months carried a significant amount of liability. If he underperformed, his odds of getting a call from Wolf or another league executive after the draft would have been nearly impossible and would have likely triggered a setback in his NFL aspirations.
Lupoli will never have to think about that possibility. After being invited to a rookie minicamp with the Tennessee Titans last year, it was a dream come true for the Chelmsford native to walk the halls in Foxboro.
Chelmsford native Sal Lupoli Jr. (Bentley University courtesy photo)
“I was just super grateful and blessed — those were the two things I just kept on saying,” Lupoli said. “Because you’re a local guy and you grew up watching the New England Patriots and you’re walking the same halls as your idols Tom Brady and Julian Edelman. That was a pretty surreal feeling.”
Lupoli worked out with the safeties at the camp. A standout defensive stalwart at Bentley University, the 2024 graduate has been taking steps to transition to the safety position. The 5-foot-11, 207-pound Lupoli left Bentley as the all-time tackles leader (337) while leading Division 2 in tackles per game (12.3) at linebacker.
The 2018 Chelmsford High graduate has excelled with the Lowell-based Pirates this season, starting in four games and registering nine tackles while assisting on 25. He blocked a kick in his debut in front of an energetic crowd at the Tsongas Center and was recently voted team captain.
But he knew he required an extra spark to land a minicamp invite from arena football. He still doesn’t regret risking it all on Chestnut Hill.
“I think that’s what kind of brought me back to life a little bit,” Lupoli said. “Because once you go through that process and you’re out of it for a year, it’s pretty tough to get back in, especially from arena.”
Along with on-field drills under the direction of first-year Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and his staff, Lupoli was walked through the typical introductory proceedings to assimilate New England’s latest pool of rookies and prospects to the organization.
“I think it went great,” Lupoli said of his minicamp. “I prepared so hard for this position transition, where I felt really confident in my skills as how it matched up with the other safeties that were there and the other defensive backs that were there. I felt great in the individual periods and even the team work as well.”
Lupoli’s locker happened to be next to Will Campbell, New England’s promising 2025 first-round pick out of LSU. The 319-pound offensive tackle is expected to be a game changer for the offense in front of second-year signal-caller Drake Maye.
Since Lupoli was working with the safeties, he said he didn’t see much of Campbell during drills. But it didn’t take long for him to see the character of the Patriots’ blue-chip prospect.
“He just was a real salt of the earth guy,” Lupoli said of Campbell. “When people get that opportunity, sometimes it can go to their head. But it certainly didn’t for him. He’s a good dude, and he seemed like a very hard worker as well.”
Lupoli is using the next few weeks to stay physically and mentally ready for any opportunities that may come out of his performance last weekend. He said he is extremely grateful to the Pirates and general manager Jawad Yatim for giving him a chance this season to play at the professional level.
Regardless of what looms next for Lupoli, he’ll forever cherish his experience with the Patriots — a door that was opened due to his persistent nature to never be denied.
“When I look back at my journey in the past year, I’m just so grateful that I didn’t give up on myself,” Lupoli said. “There was a lot of doubters, and there was a lot of people that told me I wasn’t going to do it. Just through determination and hard work, I didn’t listen to anyone besides my circle.”