Syracuse Football: New York native Dan Villari scored historic performance

On Saturday, as Syracuse football halted a five-game skid in handling Pittsburgh, New York native Dan Villari put forth a historic performance in helping lead the Orange to pick up its first Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the 2023 season and inch the ‘Cuse closer to a bowl game for the second year in a row.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Villari, who hails from Massapequa on New York’s Long Island, transferred to the Orange in the spring of 2022 after spending two seasons as a backup quarterback at Big Ten powerhouse Michigan, where he saw limited time.

Converted to a tight end at Syracuse football, the redshirt sophomore on Saturday from Yankee Stadium in New York City rushed 17 times for 154 yards and a score on the ground, and he also threw for 12 yards through the air.

With the Orange significantly limited by injuries at the quarterback position, the team’s passing attack took a huge backseat to the ‘Cuse run game, and the Mob defense was terrific as Syracuse football (5-5, 1-5 in the ACC) beat long-time rival Pitt, 28-13, leaving the Orange just one victory away from clinching bowl-eligibility in the current term.

According to SU Athletics, Villari’s 154 rushing yards set a new single-game program record for yards on the ground by a ‘Cuse tight end. The cuse.com statement went on to say that Villari’s 154 rushing yards represented “the most by a tight end in at least a decade – and probably longer – at the FBS level.” That’s tremendous.

Syracuse football tight end Dan Villari set a team record this past weekend.

Given the Orange’s injuries at quarterback that would severely limit its passing attack, the ‘Cuse coaching staff, led by head coach Dino Babers and offensive coordinator Jason Beck, rolled out a creative game plan versus the Panthers that featured Villari in a “Wildcat” formation.

The Orange, in its press release, noted that this new-look offense was installed “in the span of five days.”

What’s more, Dan Villari had been limited in his practice time, as media reports indicated that Syracuse football didn’t have him for several months through fall camp due to a lower-body injury. So for Villari, with his limited reps, to achieve what he did on Saturday was even more remarkable, although ‘Cuse coaches say that his performance wasn’t a complete surprise.

Dan Villari was a three-star prospect and a top-50 quarterback nationwide in the 2020 recruiting cycle as a standout for Plainedge High School in Massapequa, where he had a stellar career capturing several league and state titles.

Villari, as far as I can tell, is a likable, hard-working young man. Because of the season-ending injury to star junior receiver Oronde Gadsden II early on in the 2023 campaign, and other injuries to ‘Cuse players throughout the course of the present term, Villari has hunkered down and waited for his opportunity to shine.

He did so on Saturday in the Big Apple. With Villari leading the way, per SU Athletics, the total rushing yards collected by Syracuse football against Pittsburgh on Saturday were the most by the Orange dating back to the 1996 Liberty Bowl, and that output versus the Panthers included sophomore running back LeQuint Allen Jr. tallying 102 rushing yards and senior quarterback Garrett Shrader netting 96 yards along with a rushing touchdown.

"“It was an outstanding performance by the football team,” Babers said via cuse.com. “We asked them to do something that was drastic and extremely different. You can’t pull that off without belief.”"