Matt Battaglia

Matteo Martin "Matt" Battaglia (born September 25, 1965) is an American producer, actor and former football player. 2Background and football Battaglia, one of four siblings, was born in Tallahassee, Florida and is of half Italian and half German/Dutch heritage. He has an older sister, Mary Ann Battaglia Pedersen, an older sister whose married name is Theresa Battaglia Nossett and an older brother Vince Battaglia, who served 3 tours in the Iraqi and Afghanistan Wars. When Battaglia was three years old, his family moved north from Tallahassee, Florida and he grew up in the towns of Tucker, Georgia and Lithonia, Georgia, two suburbs east of Atlanta. He attended Idlewood Elementary in Tucker, Georgia and then in 1977, his family moved 15 miles southeast and he attended Lithonia High School. As a high school athlete, Battaglia served as team captain for his school's wrestling and football teams. In wrestling he placed second in the AAU's Southeastern States Championship, qualifying him to compete in the National AAU Tournament. But a football scholarship led him to the University of Louisville, where he became an All-American and All-South middle linebacker, leading the nation in tackles both his junior and senior seasons with 153 and 166 tackles respectively. He averaged 15 tackles per game in both his junior and senior seasons. Battaglia also broke former All-Pro Otis Wilson's college tackling recor