Villanova Football Roster Preview: Next Man Up at Quarterback

This is one in a series of stories breaking down Villanova Football’s roster ahead of the 2026 season.

Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide’s latest bid to squeeze out a final season of college eligibility appeared to come up short on Friday, Aug. 21. A court injunction in late July gave McQuaide another year of eligibility, but the Patriot League ruled that the Wildcats would have to forfeit any game he played.

McQuaide’s attorney attempted to have the Patriot League held in contempt of court for ignoring the initial injunction, but the NCAA went on to point out that since the conference wasn’t named in McQuaide’s suit, they shouldn’t be held responsible for it. The Patriot League also declined McQuaide’s attempt to appeal their initial ruling.

Best of the Rest

If McQuaide, who took Villanova to the FCS semifinals last season, can’t scare up a last desperate bid at eligibility before the Aug. 29 season opener, the Wildcats will roll with either senior Robert Russo (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) or freshman Nolan DiLucia (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) at the game’s most important position. Both have yet to complete their first college pass, but Villanova’s run-heavy offense in recent years has taken the onus off their quarterbacks. They also got the majority of practice reps while McQuaide went through the appeal process.

The Wildcats’ roster praises Russo for his accuracy; DiLucia is a gamer from the western side of the Commonwealth who led Peters Township (McMurray, Pa.) to their first PIAA title game appearance in school history and threw for more than 8,800 yards in his career.

From there, the Wildcats have a stable of backups like dual threat Dylan Mills (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), whose ability to improvise could provide a critical bonus in emergency situations. Senior Michael Benincasa (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) could get some late-game snaps during his final college season, while sophomore Hudson Heinemann (6-foot-2, 170 pounds) catches the eye because of his experience at Florida’s prestigious IMG Academy, one of the nation’s premier recruit factories.

True freshman John Welde (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) is a local kid who attended Cardinal O’Hara; his sister, Annie, is a rising senior on Villanova’s Women’s Basketball team. Junior John Zohlman (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), who walked on this offseason, rounds out the quarterback room.