Victor Cruz

Victor Michael Cruz (born November 11, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL).

Cruz was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on November 11, 1986, to Blanca Cruz and Michael Walker, a firefighter.

His father was African American and his mother is Puerto Rican.

He earned All-State honors as a senior in 2003, when the team went undefeated at 11–0 and captured the New Jersey Parochial Group I championship.

That season, Cruz caught 42 passes and scored 19 touchdowns—15 on receptions.

Cruz initially struggled to successfully combine his college studies with his football career, and was twice sent home from the University of Massachusetts for academic reasons.

Cruz's father died by suicide in 2007.

Cruz attended Paterson Catholic High School in Paterson.

He completed a post-graduate semester at Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine.

Cruz put up 47 catches for 869 yards and eight touchdowns in his single season at Bridgton Academy.

At Paterson Catholic, Victor played wide receiver and defensive back for coach Andrew Slome, who he credits for his success.

He only became eligible to play for the University of Massachusetts (UMass) in 2007, but went on to have both a solid college football career and to complete a BA in Afro-American Studies from UMass.

Cruz finished his career at UMass with 131 catches ranking him fourth on the all-time UMass receptions list, despite the fact that he didn't start a game until his junior season.

He scored 11 touchdowns in his career and had just under 2,000 receiving yards.

Cruz was named a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association wide receiver for the years 2008 and 2009.

He played college football at UMass, and signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2010.

Cruz went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft and was signed the day after the draft by the New York Giants.

In a preseason game against the New York Jets on August 16, 2010, Cruz helped the Giants win 31–16 by catching six passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

He finished the preseason leading the NFL with 297 receiving yards, tied for the preseason lead with four touchdown catches, and was selected to the Giants' 53-man regular season roster.

He was praised and highlighted by critics for his performance throughout the preseason.

He played in three games at the start of the season, before a hamstring injury placed him on injured reserve for the remainder of the year.

After the Giants lost Steve Smith to free agency, Cruz began the season as the team's fourth wide receiver, before injury to Domenik Hixon led to him receiving a larger role in the Giants win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3.

Against a heavily favored Eagles team Cruz made a huge impact.

Most highlighted was a Cruz reception made between two defenders in which he took to the end zone for a touchdown.

Cruz finished that game with three catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, the first and second of his career.

In Week 4, with the Giants trailing 27–24 to the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter with under three minutes left to play, Cruz made a reception and went down without being touched at the Cardinals 29-yard line and released the ball as he got up.

Believing that Cruz had fumbled since he was never touched, a Cardinal picked up the ball as if it was still alive.

The play was whistled dead, but further replay after the game showed Cruz did appear to fumble.

On the next play, Eli Manning threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks.

In a Week 5 36–25 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Cruz caught a one-handed 68-yard touchdown reception off a tipped pass.

Later in the game, Cruz also lost a fumble, allowing Seattle to tie the game at 22.

With the Giants down 29–25 inside the 20, Cruz slipped on his route with the ball in the air and in an attempt to catch the ball, tipped it into the arms of Brandon Browner, who returned it 94 yards for the game clinching touchdown.

In Week 11, against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had six receptions for 128 receiving yards and one touchdown.

In the following game, on the road against the New Orleans Saints, he had nine receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

In the next game against the Green Bay Packers, he had seven receptions for 119 yards in the 38–35 loss.

In Week 16, he tied the NFL record with an explosive 99-yard touchdown catch against the New York Jets.

His 89 yards after the catch on the play is the most by a receiver on a 99-yard reception.

This catch has constantly been highlighted as the turning point of the Giants 2011 season.

In the same game, Cruz also surpassed Amani Toomer as the record holder for the most single-season receiving yards by a Giant.

With the Giants, he won Super Bowl XLVI over the New England Patriots, and made the 2012 Pro Bowl.