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Luke Colella Enjoys Successful Final Season of College Football

Posted on: by Jonathan Spina

By: Jared Barton 

A tremendous final season of college football has come to a close for former North Allegheny Tiger Luke Colella, who transferred to Villanova last spring as a grad student after a successful undergrad career at Princeton University.

Colella put up career high numbers and led the Wildcats in receiving this season with 77 catches and 1,074 receiving yards. Both totals are the seventh-highest single-season marks in school history. The team finished 12-3 overall and 7-1 in CAA action.

In the FCS postseason, Villanova beat #15/19 Harvard at home 52-7 before heading on the road to beat the fifth seed #4/3 Lehigh 14-7 in the second round and fourth seed #5  Tarleton State 26-21 in the FCS quarterfinal. The run unfortunately came to a close back in Philadelphia on Saturday against #17 Illinois State in the semifinal, a 30-14 loss.

In the postseason, Colella had two receptions for 40 yards and a score against Harvard, eight catches for 71 yards against Lehigh, five receptions for 71 yards against Tarleton State and four receptions for 58 yards to lead the team in the final game.

Nova produced one of the most impressive postseason runs in the past several seasons of the Division I Football Championship. It is only the second team in the 48-year history of the tournament to host a semifinal game after playing back-to-back road games in the previous two rounds. This season is the fourth time overall that the Wildcats have advanced to the semifinal round.

During his time at Princeton, he started every game in 2024 and tallied 43 catches for 562 yards and five touchdowns. As a junior in 2023, he had 47 receptions for 620 yards and six scores while earning Honorable Mention All-Ivy League. He also garnered second team All-Ivy from in 2023 from the Phil Steele Publication.

The 2020 NA graduate totaled career highs in rushing and receiving in the fall of 2019. He rushed for 266 yards and posted 535 receiving yards, combining for 13 total touchdowns. Colella lined up at running back, receiver and slot. There was even a “Wildcat Package” for Colella at quarterback. He was named first-team all-conference in Class 6A by the Big 56 and was selected to play in the PSFCA East/West All-Star Game that season as well.

His football-playing journey may not be over, as Colella announced at the beginning of the month that he will train with Test Football Academy in South Florida in the offseason to prepare for the upcoming 2026 NFL Combine.