| Anthony Russo | |
| Number: | 15, 9 |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Birth Date: | 6 December 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 4 |
| Weight Lbs: | 235 |
| High School: | Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pennsylvania) |
| College: | Temple (2016–2020) Michigan State (2021) |
| Undraftedyear: | 2022 |
| Pastteams: | |
| Highlights: |
|
| Statleague: | IFL |
| Statweek: | 13 |
| Statseason: | 2023 |
| Statlabel1: | Passing attempts |
| Statvalue1: | 257 |
| Statlabel2: | Passing completions |
| Statvalue2: | 162 |
| Statlabel3: | Completion percentage |
| Statvalue3: | 63.0 |
| Statlabel4: | TD–INT |
| Statvalue4: | 44–9 |
| Statlabel5: | Passing yards |
| Statvalue5: | 1,963 |
| Statlabel6: | Passer rating |
| Statvalue6: | 176.7 |
Anthony Russo (born December 6, 1997) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Temple and Michigan State. He also played for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL.
In 2016, Russo took a redshirt year after not appearing in any games for Temple.[1]
In 2017, Russo made his college football debut as a field goal holder against No. 15 UCF in the season finale.
In 2018, Russo entered the season as the backup but gained the starting position by week two and lead the team to a 7–3 record—only missing the season finale before returning for the bowl game. He threw his first-career touchdown against Maryland. Against Heisman candidate McKenzie Milton and UCF, he threw for a career-high 52 pass attempts, 31 pass completions, 444 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, twelve rush attempts, and 46 rushing yards. The team lost the 2018 Independence Bowl 27–56.
In 2019, Russo started every game for the Owls; leading the team to an 8–5 record.
In 2020, Russo was named to the Golden Arm Award watchlist. He started the first three games of the season before an injury and COVID-19 ended his season early. On December 3, 2020, Russo announced he would transfer from Temple.[2] [3]
In 2021, Russo transferred to Michigan State and competed with, and lost to, Payton Thorne for the starting position.[4] [5] He played in two games for the Spartans: Ohio State and Youngstown State.[6] In his debut against Youngstown State he came in relief and completed five of his seven pass attempts for 43 yards.
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| Temple Owls | |||||||||||||||
| 2016 | |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 1 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 11 | 7–3 | 198 | 345 | 57.4 | 2,563 | 7.4 | 14 | 14 | 125.1 | 43 | 63 | 1.5 | 3 | |
| 2019 | 13 | 8–5 | 246 | 419 | 58.7 | 2,861 | 6.8 | 21 | 12 | 126.9 | 35 | -64 | -1.8 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 1–2 | 92 | 135 | 68.1 | 868 | 6.4 | 9 | 6 | 135.3 | 22 | 31 | 1.4 | 2 | |
| Michigan State Spartans | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 2 | 0–0 | 7 | 9 | 77.8 | 43 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 117.9 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | |
| Career | 30 | 16−10 | 543 | 908 | 59.8 | 6,335 | 6.4 | 44 | 32 | 127.4 | 103 | 40 | 0.4 | 7 | |
On November 16, 2022, Russo was selected by the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL in the 2023 XFL Draft.[7] [8] [9]
On January 22, 2023, Russo was released by the Brahmas during roster cuts.[10]
On April 1, 2023, Russo signed with the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL). Following an injury to starter Alejandro Bennifield, Russo took over and lead the team to an undefeated season at home.[11] He announced his retirement after the 2023 season.[12]