Villanova Football 2025 Roster

Villanova Football made the Second Round of the FCS playoffs last season under the leadership of veteran quarterback Connor Watkins.

After losing Watkins to graduation, the Wildcats will turn to one of veteran backup Tanner Maddocks and graduate transfer Pat McQuaide to lead their offense as they look to make it back to the postseason for the third consecutive season: the only other time in program history they’ve achieved that feat was between 2008 and 2010, when they won a national championship.

Even with the loss of veteran talent like Watkins and defensive back Isas Waxter II, an NFL hopeful with the Seattle Seahawks, Villanova Football enters 2025 as a Top 15 ranked team once again. Returning standouts include center Jake Picard and linebacker Shane Hartzell, both preseason All-American picks, as well as sophomore running back David Avit, who made a watch list for the FCS Offensive Player of the Year award after picking up more than 1,000 offensive yards last season, his first in college.

Fifth-year defensive lineman Obinna Nwobodo, senior tackle Stephane Voltaire and sophomore corner Zahmir Dawud are other expected standouts.

Heading into their final season in the CAA, Villanova Football finished third in the league’s preseason coaches poll and gained a pair of first place votes. Here’s a look at their roster in 2025.

Cornerbacks

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Zahmir Dawud / Sophomore / 6-foot-0 / 185 pounds / North Brunswick, N.J. / No. 2

Newton Essiem / Sophomore / 5-foot-11 / 185 pounds / Frederick, Md. / No. 38

Jordan Adderley / Graduate / 5-foot-10 / 185 pounds / Fayetteville, Ga. / No. 4

Julian Talley /Graduate / 5-foot-9 / 190 pounds / Hatfield, Pa. / No. 7

Damill Bostic Jr. / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-0 / 185 pounds / Hyattsville, Md. / No. 36

Jon Wyatt / Junior / 6-foot-2 / 200 pounds / Somerset, N.J. / No. 1

Defensive Backs

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Amari Jackson / Freshman / 6-foot-0 / 185 pounds / Midland, Pa. / No. 25

Brenden Toppin / Freshman / 5-foot-11 / 195 pounds / Glastonbury, Conn. / No. 28

Samir Wilkins / Freshman / 5-foot-11 / 170 pounds / Newark, N.J. / No 29

Ian Files / Freshman / 6-foot-0 / 190 pounds / Newtown Square, Pa. / No. 33

Jamie Tyson / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-2 / 200 pounds / Somers Point, N.J. / No. 23

Nino Betances / Senior / 5-foot-10 / 190 pounds / Brooklyn, N.Y. / No. 43

Safeties

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Jayvont Williams / Sophomore / 6-foot-1 / 205 pounds / Fort Worth, Texas / No. 21

Anthony Hawkins / Sophomore / 6-foot-3 / 195 pounds / Arnold, Md. / No. 27

Christian Sapp / Senior / 6-foot-0 / 195 pounds / East Stroudsburg, Pa. / No. 22

Josh Oluremi / Junior / 6-foot-3 / 200 pounds / Avenel, N.J. / No. 3

Kaleb Moody / Graduate / 5-foot-10 / 200 pounds / North Andover, Mass. / No. 8

Garrett Rogan / Senior / 6-foot-3 / 210 pounds / Mercer Island, Wash. / No. 41

Defensive Ends

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Capri Martin / Junior / 6-foot-2 / 255 pounds / Harlem, N.Y. / No. 0

Nigel McSween / Sophomore / 6-foot-4 / 250 pounds / Newark, N.J. / No. 92

Ugo Nwotite / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-5 / 230 pounds / Linwood, N.J. / No. 96

Griffin Galletta / Freshman / 6-foot-2 / 260 pounds / Greenwich, Conn. / No. 48

Nate Sullivan / Freshman / 6-foot-4 / 245 pounds / Bethesda, Md. / No. 93

Tyler Langin / Junior / 6-foot-3 / 265 pounds / Houston, Texas / No. 95

Defensive Tackles

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Obinna Nwobodo / Graduate / 6-foot-3 / 300 pounds / Wilmington, Del. / No. 98

Ayden Howard / Graduate / 6-foot-2 / 290 pounds / McKinney, Texas / No. 91

Mike Kennedy / Junior / 6-foot-1 / 300 pounds / Greenville S.C. / No. 55

Ratu Delano Navoti / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-3 / 290 pounds / Brooklyn, N.Y. / No. 99

AJ Koukou / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-1 / 285 pounds / Havertown, Pa. / No. 50

Ivan Murray / Sophomore / 6-foot-3 / 275 pounds / Paulsboro, N.J. / No 94

Linebackers

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Shane Hartzell / Senior / 6-foot-0 / 230 pounds / Perkasie, Pa. / No. 31

Richie Kimmel / Graduate / 6-foot-1 / 230 pounds / Holmes, Pa. / No. 44

Turner Inge / Junior / 6-foot-1 / 225 pounds / Williamstown, N.J. / No. 5

JR Strauss / Junior / 6-foot-3 / 230 pounds / Reading, Pa. / No. 10

Jason Hall / Sophomore / 6-foot-2 / 230 pounds / Fall River, Mass. / No. 11

Christian Caballero / Sophomore / 6-foot-2 / 225 pounds / Niceville, Fla. / No. 56

Colin Kennedy / Senior / 6-foot-2 / 225 pounds / Fair Haven, N.J. / No. 12

Omari Bursey  / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-0 / 230 pounds / Broomfield, Colo. / No. 32

Langston White / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-2 / 215 pounds / Bristow, Va. / No. 35

Dale Law / Senior / 6-foot-1 / 230 pounds / West Chester, Pa. / No. 51

Michael Gaul / Freshman / 6-foot-1 / 215 pounds / State College, Pa. / No. 53

Walker Murray / Freshman / 6-foot-1 / 225 pounds / Yardley, Pa. / No. 45

Long Snapper

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Thomas Colello / Sophomore / 5-foot-11 / 205 pounds / North Caldwell, N.J. / No. 54

Place Kickers

Luke Myers / Redshirt Freshman / 5-foot-10 / 195 pounds / Breinigsville, Pa. / No. 39

Jack Barnum / Graduate / 6-foot-2 / 210 pounds / Southington, Conn. / No. 42

Sebastian Smith / Senior / 5-foot-10 / 195 pounds / Bellingham, Wash. / No. 90

Punters

Luke Larsen / Graduate / 6-foot-2 / 225 pounds / Keilor Park, Vic., Australia / No. 0

Daniel Mueller / Junior / 5-foot-10 / 200 pounds / Ephrata, Pa. / No. 97

Interior Offensive Linemen

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Jake Picard / Graduate / 6-foot-4 / 300 pounds / Hope, R.I. / No. 69

Temi Ajirotutu / Graduate / 6-foot-5 / 310 pounds / Queens, N.Y. / No. 74

Chris McCullers / Sophomore / 6-foot-3 / 310 pounds / Round Hill, Va. / No. 76

Quin Whalen / Senior / 6-foot-4 / 290 pounds / Chalfont, Pa. / No. 63

Thomas Brown / Freshman / 6-foot-3 / 315 pounds / Chelmsford, Mass. / No. 58

Matthias Ogrinc / Freshman / 6-foot-4 / 270 pounds / Hingham, Mass. / No. 72

Offensive Tackles

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Stephane Voltaire / Senior / 6-foot-5 / 315 pounds / Randolph, Mass. / No. 75

Kyle Fay / Sophomore / 6-foot-6 / 310 pounds / Cranford, N.J. / No. 67

Tommy Broderick / Sophomore / 6-foot-5 / 295 pounds / Alpharetta, Ga. / No. 78

Ryan Cregan  / Sophomore / 6-foot-6 / 315 pounds / Morristown, N.J. / No. 79

Colt Brennan / Freshman / 6-foot-5 / 325 pounds / Easton, Md. / No. 71

Chris Therien / Freshman / 6-foot-5 / 280 pounds / Marlton, N.J. / No. 77

Nico Sclafani / Freshman / 6-foot-2 / 290 pounds / Bethesda, Md. / No. 73

Dan McManus / Senior / 6-foot-4 / 270 pounds / Havertown, Pa. / No. 61

RJ Reyes / Sophomore / 6-foot-5 / 295 pounds / Weston, Fla. / No. 62

Dhamir Wesley / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-5 / 300 pounds / Millersville, Pa. / No. 70

Quarterbacks

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Tanner Maddocks / Junior / 6-foot-1 / 200 pounds / Reading, Pa. / No. 3

Pat McQuaide / Graduate / 6-foot-0 / 205 pounds / Solon, Ohio / No. 7

Michael Benincasa / Junior / 6-foot-2 / 215 pounds / Ardmore, Pa. / No. 8

Hudson Heinemann / Freshman / 6-foot-2 / 170 pounds / Wappingers Falls, N.Y. / No. 12

Dylan Mills / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-2 / 205 pounds / Dana Point, Calif. / No. 14

Robert Russo / Junior / 6-foot-3 / 225 pounds / Millsboro, Del. / No. 14

Jack Ryder / Senior / 6-foot-2 / 195 pounds / Media, Pa. / No. 16

Running Backs

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Eli Smith / Senior / 6-foot-0 / 230 pounds / Houston, Texas / No. 2

Ja’briel Mace / Sophomore / 5-foot-9 / 175 pounds / Somers Point, N.J. / No. 4

Julian Glantz / Senior / 6-foot-1 / 22o pounds / Scarsdale, N.Y. / No. 18

Isaiah Ragland / Sophomore / 5-foot-9 / 205 pounds / Alexandria, Va. / No. 20

David Avit / Sophomore / 6-foot-0 / 225 pounds / Frederick, Md. / No. 24

Isaiah Wright / Senior / 5-foot-8 / 200 pounds / Douglassville, Pa. / No. 26

Tyler Womack / Freshman / 5-foot-10 / 190 pounds / Pasadena, Md. / No. 34

Tight Ends

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Antonio Johnson / Senior / 6-foot-4 / 260 pounds / Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / No. 9

Nolan Clayton / Sophomore / 6-foot-5 / 245 pounds / King of Prussia, Pa. / No. 85

Sean Brodnik / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-3 / 245 pounds / Ardmore, Pa. / No. 86

Sean Welde / Freshman / 6-foot-6 / 260 pounds / Cherry Hill, N.J. / No. 89

Wide Receivers

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Luke Colella / Graduate / 5-foot-10 / 195 pounds / Wexford, Pa. / No. 1

Nate Hill / Junior / 6-foot-3 / 215 pounds / Dallas, Texas / No. 6

Chris Colby / Sophomore / 6-foot-3 / 205 pounds / Rowley, Mass. / No. 13

Kenyon Miles / Junior / 6-foot-2 / 195 pounds / Huntington Station, N.Y. / No. 15

Lucas Kopecky / Graduate / 6-foot-3 / 200 pounds / Rocky Hill, N.J. / No. 16

Chris Dobrydney / Senior / 5-foot-10 / 185 pounds / Fairfax, Va. / No. 19

D’Hani Cobbs / Freshman / 5-foot-9 / 180 pounds / Camden, N.J. / No. 80

Brandon Binkowski / Redshirt Freshman / 6-foot-3 / 205 pounds / Haymarket, Va. / No. 81

Ryan Kennedy / Junior / 6-foot-1 / 195 pounds / Cleveland Heights, Ohio / No. 82

Braden Reed / Freshman / 5-foot-9 / 180 pounds / Pottstown, Pa. / No. 83

Ralee Stephens / Redshirt Freshman / 5-foot-9 / 165 pounds / No. 84

Ryan Sorge / Junior / 6-foot-3 / 205 pounds / Warrington, Pa. / No. 87