QB Expert Trent Dilfer Is Big Fan Of Temple Football Recruit Anthony Russo

The little guy, the typical high school football fan, started noticing Archbishop Wood quarterback Anthony Russo during a 2015 season that saw him throw an astounding 35 touchdown passes for the Philadelphia school.

The big guys, including quarterback guru Trent Dilfer, an ESPN analyst, LSU head coach Les Miles and Temple head coach Matt Rhule had Russo on their radar screens long before that. On Friday, Miles flew the LSU private jet into Philadelphia to try to convince Russo to come south, but by the end of the day, Russo had decided to stay home and play for Temple.

Now, largely because of Dilfer’s strong endorsement of Russo at the Elite 11 quarterback camp he runs, plenty of eyes will be following Russo’s career at Temple. Fortunately for both Russo and the Owls, they will have the luxury of red-shirting the QB because the school’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, P.J. Walker, returns for his senior season. If anything happens to Walker, though, the Owls probably will not hesitate to burn the redshirt in a season where they figure to win 10 or more games again.

In reality, a great quarterback is like a great tennis player, developed at a very young age, and Dilfer’s interest was the key for Russo, who invited him to Dilfer’s Elite 11 quarterback camp before the 2015 season. At Dilfer’s camp, Russo advanced into the final five among the nation’s best high school quarterbacks and Dilfer’s said he “loved the kid” and he had “massive dance moves.” He also praised Russo’s ability to find targets by using his footwork. Dilfer said that his nickname for Russo was “Ryan” because he had mistakenly called Russo by that name early in the camp. The entire video can be seen above.

Interestingly enough, Russo is probably the best high school quarterback from a Philadelphia league since a Ryan, Matt Ryan, whose quarterback coach with the Atlanta Falcons once was Glenn Thomas, Temple’s current offensive coordinator.

Dilfer, who has been right about these things in the past, thinks Russo will be a great college quarterback. And that’s why a lot of eyes, both in the NFL and otherwise, will be on Temple’s new recruit once he gets onto the field.