Dan Villari

Early life

Villari attended Plainedge High School in North Massapequa, New York. During his senior season, he rushed for 1,522 yards and 23 touchdowns on 121 carries and completed 67 of 113 pass attempts for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns. Coming out of high school, Villari was rated as a three-star recruit and the 40th overall quarterback in the class of 2021 by 247Sports, and committed to play college football for the Michigan Wolverines over offers from other schools such as Buffalo, UMass, Fordham, and Albany.

Michigan

During his two seasons with Michigan in 2020 and 2021, Villari completed just one of his three pass attempts for 26 yards, while also running for 35 yards on nine carries.

Syracuse

Villari transferred to play for the Syracuse Orange. After transferring, he transitioned to play tight end for the Orange. During the 2022 season, Villari made three starts, recording one catch for 22 yards. In Week 5 of the 2023 season, he totaled two catches for 65 yards and a touchdown against Clemson. In Week 11, Villari ran for 154 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a win over Pittsburgh. On the season, he caught 20 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 326 yards and two touchdowns on 55 carries, and completed 23 of 33 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. During the 2024 season, Villari hauled in six passes for 57 yards. In Week 1 of the 2025 season, he hauled in four passes for 55 yards against Tennessee. In the regular season finale, Villari rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in a loss versus Boston College. He finished the 2025 season with 39 catches for 412 yards as well as one rushing touchdown.