Dan Villari tried to pull off his wildcat magic 1 more time — it didn’t work
Two years after serving as a wildcat quarterback for Syracuse, tight end Dan Villari took snaps under center for the Orange in their 34-12 loss to BC Sunday. Madison Cox | Staff Photographer
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Two years ago, Dan Villari found himself in a peculiar position. Garrett Shrader was hampered by a shoulder injury prior to a matchup against Pittsburgh. There seemed to be no other viable option for then-SU head coach Dino Babers. So, he went to the extreme. Enter Villari, a former quarterback at Michigan, who switched to tight end at Syracuse.
It seemed like a wild plan, but it worked. Villari had 17 carries for 154 yards with a touchdown in a Syracuse win. Babers tried it again the next week against Georgia Tech, and Villari accounted for 140 scrimmage yards despite losing to the Yellow Jackets.
That seemed to be the end of Villari’s wildcat days. And they were — until Saturday. Under a new coach, with nearly none of the same teammates, Villari found himself in a similar position 24 months later. Unlike Villari’s previous stint in the wildcat, it didn’t work.
In his final game with Syracuse, Villari did what he had done for most of his Syracuse career: He put his body on the line. He got the chance to recreate some magic and give SU a spark one final time. He fell short. Villari carried the ball 11 times and finished with 44 yards and a touchdown, as Syracuse (3-9, 1-8 Atlantic Coast) fell to Boston College (2-10, 1-7 ACC) 34-12. It was the Orange’s eighth-straight loss, which came by an average of 27.5 points.
There was no storybook ending to Villari’s SU career. It concluded in a befuddled mess, with him playing out of position once again.
“I learned you’re not judged on your wins. You’re judged on your losses,” Villari said postgame. “When times are tough, that’s when you show your real characters. So when times have been tough, I made sure to play hard for my teammates and just show who I really am.”
This season was supposed to be different for Villari. With Oronde Gadsden II moving on to the NFL, he’d finally get his shot to move out of his shadow. Gadsden accounted for 90.1% of SU’s receptions from tight ends in 2024, recording 934 yards. Nobody expected those numbers from Villari, though he could help cushion the blow of losing a top-tier talent like Gadsden.
With Steve Angeli, Villari built a solid connection. Over SU’s first four games, Villari had 20 catches for 240 yards, already eclipsing his total from the previous two seasons. Then Angeli tore his Achilles on Sept. 20. Since then, Villari’s had just 19 catches and 172 yards.
After Angeli’s injury, Fran Brown shuffled through quarterbacks, with LSU transfer Rickie Collins starting five games and walk-on Joe Filardi getting the nod in three. Freshman Luke Carney was also placed in the mix in spurts.
Nothing worked. Syracuse’s offense averaged 11 points in the seven games after Angeli’s injury. Brown needed something different in the regular-season finale. His new wrinkle was an old one, with Villari taking snaps under center.
Brown approached Villari with his plan early in the week. The senior stepped up with no hesitation.
“I said, ‘I’m ready. Let’s do it,’” Villari said.
“He exemplifies DART. Any player that comes up here today and you ask them, they’ll say, Dan works extremely hard. He does everything right. He’s on time everywhere,” Brown added. “If everyone on the team does what Dan does, we’ll reach all of our goals. Dan’s a great kid.”
Brown’s plan worked to some degree early. With Villari under center on SU’s second drive, Will Nixon burst through a hole on the left side for a 28-yard gain. Villari followed with a pair of rushes for 13 yards. After weeks of stagnant offense, Syracuse was finally moving the ball. The drive ended in a Tripp Woody 49-yard field goal, which knotted the game at 3-3.
The ensuing drive, the Orange had seven straight rushes with Villari at quarterback, getting deep into Boston College territory once again. However, a holding call pushed SU back, and it was forced into another field goal.
That drive represented the last time the Orange moved the ball with any sort of consistency. BC head coach Bill O’Brien started keying in on Villari, and SU’s rushing game was muted.
A 6-6 tie at halftime devolved into a 28-point deficit by the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Syracuse started the half with two three-and-outs with just one first down on its first three drives. The holes were no longer open for Villari, and his wizardry on the ground had run out.
On SU’s two field goal drives, Villari carried the ball seven times for 43 yards. Nixon also recorded 58 rushing yards on eight attempts. But outside of those possessions, Villari added just one more yard and Nixon added 20.
“We had a chance to get that rolling and get that done, and then, as they moved different pieces, put different stuff in the box it was just a little bit of a change up,” Brown said. “(We) still tried running, but just got behind a little bit too fast.”
Villari’s wildcat tactic could work in a tie, or even down a possession. It’s untenable down two. With Filardi’s inability to throw the ball downfield — going 10-of-18 for just 65 yards — the game was over once Jordan McDonald made it 20-6 with 59 seconds left in the third quarter.
Deciding which is more humiliating — Syracuse’s 70-7 loss to then-No. 9 Notre Dame last week, or a three-touchdown loss to a team that hadn’t won since Aug. 30 — is tough.
Syracuse was broken over the past two months. Like in 2023, Villari’s appearance in the wildcat was a byproduct of a dysfunctional offense. Brown shouldn’t have needed to switch to Villari looking for a spark. There could’ve — and should’ve — been other ways to produce positive plays. Yet that never happened with the Orange.
It’s caused everyone around the program to count down the days until Angeli gets healthy.
Angeli was shown pregame throwing the ball without a boot on. It’s a positive sign in what still remains a long journey. Though the best programs don’t collapse with one injury, even if it’s a quarterback. Brown never found the right solutions without Angeli.
The first choice Brown made that had any sort of success — albeit short-lived — was giving Villari snaps at quarterback. The senior gave himself a chance to end his career on a positive note after a lost season.
For one last time, Villari got to play hero ball. He pushed and shoved his way through would-be tacklers, fighting for every inch. Ultimately, he just came up short.
“(I want to be remembered) just a versatile player that was tough and gave everything he had to the university and to his teammates,” Villari said.
