PHILADELPHIA — It was the kind of play that you have to see to believe and it even has a local connection.
During Villanova’s football game against Delaware on Saturday, quarterback Daniel Smith defied physics and was able to flip the ball up as he was being tackled near the goal line. Tight end and Loyola Academy grad Charlie Gilroy was able to snag it.
“The ball was like a punt, you know, so it was like rolling like this instead of like a regular spiral. When I saw it up in the air, I was just like, ‘oh, holy smokes!’ It was a good feeling. I caught the ball and I was pretty excited,” Gilroy said.
Unlike Big Ten schools and other major universities, Villanova is in the FCS and played their season in the spring due to COVID-19.
The 20-year-old junior’s first collegiate touchdown catch also caught the eye of the NFL’s most dazzling player; Patrick Mahomes. The former MVP tweeted, “Man that is some crazy stuff” with two laughing emojis and a thumbs up.
“Patrick Mahomes tweeted about the play and that was pretty crazy to have the best quarterback in the NFL tweet about a play you were involved in pretty cool experience all around,” Gilroy said.
Gilroy said all credit should go to his quarterback and that he believes he was just in the right place at the right time.
