Daniel Hunter Villari (born June 29, 2002) is an American professional football tight end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). An undrafted free agent out of Syracuse, he previously played college football for the Michigan Wolverines.
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.
College career 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.
Statistics Year Team Games Passing Rushing Receiving 2020 Michigan 0 0 — Redshirted 2021 Michigan 4 0 — 1 3 33.3 26 8.7 0 0 106.1 9 35 3.9 0 0 0 0.0 0 2022 Syracuse 7 3 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 1 22 22.0 0 2023 Syracuse 13 10 0–1 22 33 69.7 177 5.4 1 2 112.6 55 326 5.9 2 20 180 9.0 3 2024 Syracuse 12 2 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 12 29 2.4 1 6 57 9.5 0 2025 Syracuse 12 10 — 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 17 55 3.2 1 39 412 10.6 0 Career 48 25 0−1 24 36 66.7 203 5.6 1 2 112.1 93 445 4.8 4 66 671 10.2 3
Professional career
After going unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft, on April 28, 2026 the Los Angeles Rams signed Villari as an undrafted free agent. On August 30, he was waived as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad.
References
External links Los Angeles Rams bio Michigan Wolverines bio Syracuse Orange bio