Exit: Dan Villari
Michigan took a hit to the quarterback room this morning. Rivals is reporting, and MLive has confirmed, that Dan Villari is in the portal:
2020 3-star QB Dan Villari entered the transfer portal after playing in four games during his time with Michigan @MaizeBlueReview https://t.co/VT7Ql3kCdP
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) January 6, 2022
Villari was Michigan’s late pickup when their 2020 quarterback JD Johnson had to medically retire, and the Wolverines couldn’t one-up Ohio State in the late pursuit of CJ Stroud. Johnson, by the way, still joined the program on a medical scholarship, and is also in the portal after getting cleared by a cardiologist in Cleveland to come back to football.
As for Villari, Michigan mostly used him in blowout situations to run zone reads, but he was easy to root for, and might have had a role as a QB/tank. He did get a redshirt this season so he will still have four years to play wherever he goes. He would have won.
January 6th, 2022 at 10:40 AM ^
Request to include updated scholarship count in all these updates since they are happening so frequently and then we can know how many more to expect
edit: makes sense. thanks for the link.
January 6th, 2022 at 10:50 AM ^
Not sure I want to do that because it ties attrition to the need for it and creates the appearance that these guys are not wanted here. Michigan's 2022 scholarship count is at 93 by my figuring. I'll keep that spreadsheet updated whenever I post these.
January 6th, 2022 at 11:19 AM ^
Thanks Seth. Although having players leave is not the happy occasion celebrated with "Hello" posts, there are roster implications.
January 6th, 2022 at 10:52 AM ^
Seconded!
January 6th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
He would have won?
January 6th, 2022 at 10:55 AM ^
A callback to Seth's constant (and accurate) assertion that had we played OSU last year, Villari would've won the game.
January 6th, 2022 at 11:47 AM ^
768 days.
January 6th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
He would have won.
Damn straight he would have!
January 6th, 2022 at 10:55 AM ^
He would have won what, Seth? I am suspended in suspense.
January 6th, 2022 at 11:36 AM ^
OSU game last year...when all QB's were out with medical. Was down to Vilari on depth chart
January 6th, 2022 at 4:00 PM ^
He will transfer to Ohio State, beat out CJ Stroud and beat mi in 325 days in Columbus.
January 6th, 2022 at 12:16 PM ^
He did win. The 2020 Game was played behind closed doors. Vilari rushed for 349 yards and 7 TDs. He was lethal on zone read keepers. Also blocked a punt for the game-winning safety.
January 6th, 2022 at 12:59 PM ^
An RPO masterclass.
Sources can neither confirm nor deny whether Dan Villari has ever been seen in the same room at the same time as Michael Barrett.
January 6th, 2022 at 5:55 PM ^
Hey guys...please stop speaking of that behind closed doors 2020 game. No one was supposed to know about that.
January 6th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
Well, this felt inevitable even if I would have preferred he spend another year at Michigan and get his degree first, but I hope he finds a good landing spot.
Starting to think it now makes sense to look through the transfer portal for guys like Bowman every year(dudes who know who they are, have played, and are likely in it for a good degree) to provide backup depth as the grab a developmental guy and hope he sticks through his career and turns into a viable backup model appears to have been blown all to hell.
January 8th, 2022 at 10:35 PM ^
Our admission dept wont allow it. Credits at 98% of other colleges dont transfer to our elite academic institution. We can only take grad transfers. Undergrads only from Virginia, Northwestern, Stanford and any Ivy League. A huge detriment.
January 6th, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^
Wish him the best! Orji appears to be an upgraded version of Villari and this exit makes clear the thinking behind taking two QBs in this cycle. Will be interesting to see if Bowman sticks.
January 6th, 2022 at 12:37 PM ^
Even if Orji stays at QB (which seems in doubt), he's two years behind Villari. Orji won't be a viable option as even an emergency QB in 2022 and maybe not even 2023. Not knocking Orji at all; just echoing the thought of one of the posters above that it would be nice to have your 3 star QBs stick around so that they can be a viable option by their 4th or 5th year to provide competence.
January 6th, 2022 at 12:42 PM ^
Also with JJ, I think Villari's role was redundant. Rutgers has utilized Langan in a way we could've used Villari and was successful. But it makes the run ever more predictable, while the defense still has to honor the pass with JJ in the game.
January 6th, 2022 at 12:13 PM ^
Is there any where showing who Michigan may be targeting in the portal?
January 6th, 2022 at 12:44 PM ^
Points for a “game-winning safety” with 7 TDs. Against 2020 OSU offense, probably accurate.
January 6th, 2022 at 1:47 PM ^
Good luck to him. But, Michigan's QB room could get a little worrisome if McNamara decides to leave - pending the eventual decision of starter for next season. Hopefully, that won't be the case and we have both him and JJ next season.
January 6th, 2022 at 3:23 PM ^
I guess his decision depends on whether he'd rather play or be part of a championship team.
He's never going to be playing on Sundays, and his wisdom in the room and strength as a backup if JJ goes down make UM stronger. He seems like a real team player, though I'm probably wish-casting, who'd stay to help build something.
January 6th, 2022 at 6:01 PM ^
Another one that I had on my list.
Still expecting 8-12 more.
January 8th, 2022 at 10:34 PM ^
We were in on Stroud? Damn
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