When Victor Cruz finished his college career at UMass two years ago, the NFL didn’t think he was good enough to get an invitation to Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine. That was a slight miscalculation.
Cruz may not have been good enough to do the three-cone drill at Lucas Oil Stadium, but he’ll be one of the best players on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday. But Cruz, who signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent and made the team after a strong preseason, said today that he doesn’t hold any hard feelings to the folks who didn’t think he was good enough two years ago.
“Being from a small school, I understand how that whole thing goes,” Cruz said. “I wasn’t 6-foot-5, 220 pounds or I didn’t have off-the-wall statistics, so I understood how that whole thing goes. I’d rather be here for the Super Bowl now than the Combine.”
Cruz said he never viewed the lack of an invitation to the Combine as a sign that he couldn’t make it in the NFL.
“I just knew whatever opportunities were in front of me, whether it be Pro Day, Combine, or whatever it was, I just had to make the best of it,” he said. “I just did the best I could and was fortunate enough to open up some minds.”
The Giants are fortunate that someone in their scouting department thought Cruz had enough talent to merit an offer as an undrafted free agent. And the Giants were smart to keep him after his great preseason as a rookie. Just two years after Cruz was one of the best receivers in the Colonial Athletic Association, Cruz is now one of the best receivers in the NFL.