ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — There are plenty of new faces on the UAlbany men’s lacrosse team as they reload for the 2023 season. But one of the new faces will be a familiar one to UAlbany sports fans.

Now former UAlbany quarterback Joey Carino has jumped from the football field to the lax turf to play defensive midfield. Carino tallied 7 total touchdowns, working in as a change of pace under center the past three seasons for the UAlbany football team.

Carino originally committed to play lacrosse at Syracuse out of Archbishop Stepinac, before switching to UAlbany for football. He entered the transfer portal after this past football season, and while he didn’t find a new school, he found a new challenge. “When I was in the portal, I was talking to a bunch of schools,” said Carino. “I was talking to coach Marr, as well. I went on their team trip to Dippikill and there was a different vibe. This team, everyone’s together. A big family aspect. It’s really special and I wanted to be a part of it.”

Carino has been getting back into the lacrosse groove, focusing mainly on his conditioning. “Coach Marr said it’s kind of like riding a bike,” said Carino. “Just have to get used to it for a little bit and get my wind up running-wise playing defensive middie.”

Head coach Scott Marr sees a lot of skills that transfer over to the lacrosse field. “He brings a really good positive mentality and work ethic to our team,” said Marr. “Football is a very disciplined sport. As a quarterback, he had to know so many different things knowledge-wise and plays and then being a leader as well. He’s already stepped in and you can already feel his presence as a leader, but he’s starting to see everyday he does another thing better each day.”

The Danes start their season February 10 at Syracuse, where Carino had originally committed for lacrosse.