Shane Hartzell has been the rock of Villanova’s defense. His goal in this final season? Leave a legacy.

While offensive skill players tend to take up much of the spotlight, linebackers like Villanova’s Shane Hartzell quietly impact the game from behind the defensive line.

“He’s not a super vocal guy,” coach Mark Ferrante said. “But he is pretty vocal on the field.”

With five seconds left in the Wildcats’ game against William & Mary on Sept. 27, the Tribe had time for one final play while trailing by seven. Before the snap, Hartzell was orchestrating the Villanova defense, pointing to spots on the field and specific players on William & Mary’s offense.

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The Tribe went for a Hail Mary. Hartzell sat back until he saw an opportunity, then sliced through the offensive line to help sack Tribe quarterback Tyler Hughes and preserve the 31-24 win.

Hartzell finished with a team-high 10 tackles (including four for losses) as well as a career high-tying two sacks and two quarterback hits. His performance earned him CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.

It was just another performance for Hartzell. He has led the Wildcats in tackles in three of the last four seasons. He was five tackles short in 2024.

“He’s just been a great student of the game with a great work ethic,” Ferrante said. “You can tell him something once, and he gets it. He’ll make a mistake once, and not again. He’ll correct it.”

Hartzell leads the Wildcats in total tackles with 37.

He collected a litany of honors last season, including an FCS All-America second-team selection, CAA first-team defensive selection, a Phil Steele all-CAA first-team defensive award winner, a member of PhillySIDA’s academic all-area team, and was Villanova’s senior Student-Athlete of the Year.

This preseason, Hartzell was named to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list, Stats Perform FCS preseason All-America team, and CAA preseason all-conference team.

He has recorded 326 total tackles (30½ for losses), 15 sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles (one recovery), and six pass breakups in 48 games for the Wildcats.

“He reads defenses extremely well,” Ferrante said. “When he gets his hands on you, you’re not getting out. He’s a good tackler, takes on blocks, but gets rid of blocks and then still makes a play. So he’s just an excellent, high-IQ football player that studies really hard and plays really hard.”

Said Hartzell: “I’m just grateful that I had the opportunity to play so early in my career. I think that really allowed me to grow into a better football player and into a better person for this team. So I’m just grateful for the fact that there was an opportunity there, and I was able to make an impact.”

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Hartzell committed to Villanova in 2020 during the pandemic. He grew up roughly 30 miles north of the Main Line in Perkasie. He attended Pennridge High School, where he was a three-time all-Suburban One League selection.

Outside of wanting to stay close to home and receive a great education, Hartzell said the culture Villanova provided stood out to him.

“The coaches really brought a standard of building relationships throughout the recruiting process,” Hartzell said. “They were always reaching out, always calling, checking up, not just about football, but just in life in general. That’s how it’s always been as I’ve been here through my five years. It’s all an open-door policy. They want you to succeed.”

This offseason, the Villanova defense lost a chunk of its veteran leadership to graduation, including Hartzell’s former partner at linebacker, Brendan Bell.

Villanova’s secondary is made up of a redshirt freshman, two sophomores, and two seniors who took on starting safety roles for the first time this season. Over the summer, Hartzell and other veterans brought in the younger Wildcats to watch film once or twice a week to gain experience.

“We all got together just to review film and get the communication down,” Hartzell said. “A big part is that we also say, ‘Eleven as one on the field.’ So we all have to be communicating and doing the same thing. As we continue to play more games together, we’ll only get better.”

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And now the work is paying off.

Despite recording a blank stat sheet against New Hampshire on Oct. 4, Villanova’s defense put on one of their best performances this season. It picked up an interception on the game’s fifth play that set up a Villanova scoring drive.

Villanova tallied its largest margin of victory over the team since the 2009 playoffs and held New Hampshire to a season-low seven points and 207 yards of total offense.

On Saturday, Hartzell had three tackles in a 29-21 win at Elon.

“He’s been a great mentor to the young guys,” Ferrante said. “That’s how he was brought up. Forrest Rhyne took him, Brendan Bell, and Richie Kimmel under his belt. And so now, [Shane] and Richie are taking the rest of the guys. They’re in there watching film all the time, and they get the young guys to come with them.”

As his time at Villanova winds down, Hartzell is taking each game and snap one at a time. He is finishing his certificate in public administration but says he’s still undecided on his future.

“Right now, I’m not really sure, career-wise, what [I will do],” Hartzell said. “If I’m blessed to have an opportunity to take a shot to the next level for football, I would love that, but other than that, I’m just focusing on what we’re doing right now.”