Draft:Dante Aviles-Santos

Dante Aviles-Santos (born November 28, 2001) is an American football quarterback who plays college football for the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs. He played high school football at Cumberland High School in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Aviles-Santos tied UMass Dartmouth's total season touchdown record with 33, he was also the MASCAC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2021. In 2022, he led the Corsairs to a 9–1 record and their first playoff appearance in twenty years, he also was the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year following that season.

Early life and high school
Aviles-Santos was born on November 28, 2001, in Cumberland, Rhode Island. He went to St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, before moving to Cumberland where he attended Cumberland High School. At Cumberland High School he played basketball and football.

St. Raphael Academy
In 2016, Aviles-Santos began his high school career at St. Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He appeared in one game as a freshman recording no stats, as the team went 7–5 that year losing in the playoffs to La Salle Academy in the first round.

Cumberland High School
In 2017, he moved to Cumberland, Rhode Island and played for Cumberland High School. As a sophomore Aviles-Santos played in ten games, going 26 for 47 for 452 yards, and five touchdowns to no interceptions. He made his season debut against Tolman High School where he only threw one pass which was incomplete in a 31–7 win for Cumberland. Aviles-Santos made his first career start against Rogers High School, where completed twelve of his eighteen pass attempts alongside three touchdown passes and no turnovers in a 37–7 win over the Vikings. He then again played in the team's next game against Woonsocket High School where the team won 37–26 over the Villa Novans as Aviles-Santos tossed two touchdowns and the team's junior quarterback, Joe Leonard (who currently plays for Endicott College ) threw another. He helped lead the Clippers to a 5–5 record as they lost to Bishop Hendricken High School 0–45 in the first round of the playoffs where he went eight for eighteen for 115 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions.

In 2018, Aviles-Santos saw little play time as senior quarterback, Joe Leonard, took the starting spot for that season. The team finished with a losing record of 5–6 and lost their playoff game against North Kingstown High School 6–21.

In 2019, he was the starter for all eleven games that season, going 5–6. That season he was 59 of 138 for 883 yards alongside twelve touchdowns and three interceptions. He had his best performance of the year in a 30–21 win over East Providence High School where he went eleven of eighteen for 193 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran the ball five times for fourteen yards. Against his old school, Aviles-Santos went three of ten for thirty yard, but rushed 21 times for 98 yards along with two rushing touchdowns to get a 21–13 win over the St. Rays Saints. After the team started 1–4, he led the team to three straight wins to get up to 4–4 to get them into the playoffs, where the promptly lost to La Salle 0–35 where he only had four yards on two completions in six attempts along with one interception. He committed to play football for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

College career
In 2020, Aviles-Santos' freshman year, the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) canceled their participation in the 2020–21 NCAA Division III football season.

In 2021, he was the starter for all eleven games for the Corsairs, making his debut against the Husson Eagles, he went nine for twenty for 128 yards and two touchdowns in a 21–14 win. He won MASCAC Player of the Week after his six touchdown performance against Dean Bulldogs in a 48–29 win. He won three Rookie of the Week awards after his games against Dean (21–14), Bridgewater State (26–20), and Plymouth State (28–7). He was named MASCAC Offensive Rookie of the Year and Second-Team All-Conference as he led the MASCAC with 25 touchdown passes and was third in passing yards with 2,197. Aviles-Santos led the Corsairs to a 9–2 record including a New England Bowl win where he threw for 316 yards on fifteen completions in 28 attempts alongside four touchdown passes and two interceptions. He also ran four times for 72 yards and two touchdowns as the team beat Alfred State 42–16. After the game he was named as the weekly Gold Helmet Award winner. He also tied the school's single season total touchdown record with 33 total touchdowns. On the year he went 148 of 269 for 2,197 yards along with 25 touchdowns to only four interceptions. He also ran the ball 94 times for 299 yards and an additional eight touchdowns.

In 2022, Aviles-Santos was once again the starter, beginning the season off by beating Husson again 35–14 where he threw four touchdowns. The next week the Corsairs faced the Anna Maria Amcats in a game where 111 total points were scored between the two teams. Despite a second consecutive four touchdown game the team lost 48–63. UMass Dartmouth and Aviles-Santos scored forty points in three straight games against Framingham State (46–21), Worcester State (41–20), and Western Connecticut State (48–21). He won MASCAC Player of the Week after beating Framingham State where he went eighteen of 36 for 321 yards and four touchdowns. He again won the award after beating WestConn while going twenty for 25 for 333 yards and a career-high six touchdown passes. The team won seven straight games including back to back games against Fitchburg State and Bridgewater State with a combined score of 97–7. He led the Corairs to a 9–1 regular season beating Plymouth State in the MASCAC Championship 46–21. The Corsairs and Aviles-Santos earned a bid into the 2022 Division III Playoffs, where they played Ithaca. He was awarded the New England Football Writers College Division Season Golden Helmet Award, which is given to the most valuable player in Division II and Division III. Aviles-Santos was also named the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year and was a First-Team All-MASCAC selection. The team lost its first playoff appearance in twenty years by a score of 20–63. On December 9, 2022, he received First-Team All-Region honors following his campaign where he threw 3,189 yards, 28 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Aviles-Santos enters the season slated to be the starter for his third consecutive season after back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since the early 2000s. On May 5, 2023, Aviles-Santos was voted as team captain.