Syracuse football will start true freshman quarterback Joseph Filardi against North Carolina according to multiple reports.
CNY Central’s Matt Mulcahy first reported that Filardi will take over for Rickie Collins as Syracuse’s starter under center. SU has been mired in a four-game losing streak since Steve Angeli went down with a torn Achilles injury against Clemson.
Filardi was recruited by Gary Gait to play lacrosse out of Dix Hills (NY) Half Hollow Hills West. He was an All-American there, scoring 30 goals with 30 assists as a junior.
He also started at quarterback, and threw for 3,115 yards and 43 touchdowns as a senior in 2004. Filardi appeared briefly in the spring game, and has been mostly working with the scout team this fall.
Filardi previously came on The Juice on the Cuse Podcast to discuss playing both sports at SU.
“So I originally committed to Syracuse in September of 2023, which I was recruited for lacrosse and I committed,” Filardi said. “So that was definitely really exciting. I fell in love with the campus and the coaching staff was great.
“And then I took a football visit this past March (2024) and I talked to the lacrosse coaches to see if they would be okay with me playing football. And then I mentioned it to the football coaches to see if I could play lacrosse and football because they didn’t know I was committed. So I mentioned it to them and they said I could.”
Filardi joins an elite group of Syracuse athletes who have played both lacrosse and football at Syracuse. Only four other names appear on this list: Jim Brown, John Mackey, Joe Ehrman, and Jeff Lowe.
“It’s definitely an honor to be recognized as one of five people, especially with Jim Brown,” Filardi said. “It’s truly an honor to add on the list at Syracuse. I just can’t wait to make a name for myself there.”
Syracuse will try to end its losing streak against Bill Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl winning coach for the NFL’s New England Patriots.
He has not found similar success at the college level so far, as the Tar Heels have started 2-5 on the season, and are winless in ACC play. They have seen better performances recently over their past two games, however, losing by a combined 4 points to California and No. 16 Virginia.
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