Victor Cruz ( American football ) Victor Michael Cruz ( born November 11 , 1986 ) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Massachusetts . He was an undrafted free agent signed by the New York Giants in the 2010 offseason . Early years . Cruz was born to an African American firefighter and Puerto Rican mother . His parents never married and his father committed suicide in 2007 . Cruz attended Paterson Catholic High School in Paterson , New Jersey . He completed a post - graduate semester at Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton , Maine . At Paterson Catholic , Victor played wide receiver and defensive back for coach Benjie Wimberly . 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 Victor caught 42 passes and scored 19 touchdowns — 15 on receptions . College career . 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 . He only became eligible to play for the University of Massachusetts in 2007 , but went on to have both a solid college football career and to graduate with a degree in African - American studies . Cruz finished his career at University of Massachusetts with 149 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 . Professional career . Cruz went undrafted in the 2010 NFL Draft and was signed the day after the draft by the New York Giants . 2010 season . Cruz ' s big NFL game was a Monday night pre - season game against the New York Jets on August 16 , 2010 when Cruz helped the Giants win 31 - 16 by catching 6 passes for 145 yards and 3 touchdowns . He would finish the preseason leading the NFL with 297 receiving yards , tied for the preseason lead with 4 touchdown catches , and was selected to the Giants ' 53 - man regular season roster . Before he played his first game , Cruz had recently pulled his hamstring while practicing for the first game . Cruz played in five games at the start of the season , without recording a catch before a hamstring injury placed him on injured reserve for the remainder of the year . 2011 season . After the Giants lost Steve Smith to free agency , Cruz began the season as the team ' s fourth wide receiver , before injuries to both Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon led to him receiving a larger role in the Giants win over the Philadelphia Eagles . Cruz finished that game with 3 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns , the first and second of his career . On October 2 , 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 . Wrongly believing that Cruz had fumbled since he was never touched , a Cardinal picked up the ball as if it was still alive . 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 and 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 16 , he tied the NFL record with a 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 . In the same game he also surpassed Amani Toomer as the record holder for the most single - season receiving yards by a Giant . Cruz was named a Pro Bowl alternate for the 2011 season . In Week 17 , in a do - or - die game against the Dallas Cowboys for the final playoff slot in the NFC , Cruz had 6 receptions for 178 yards , including the game ' s first score with a 74 - yard touchdown catch , as well as a 4th quarter 44 yard catch on third and 7 that put the Giants in position to make a field goal that put the Giants up by two scores . The Giants added another touchdown , a 4 - yard pass from Eli Manning to Hakeem Nicks , setting a record of 15 4th quarter TD passes in one season for Eli Manning and beat the Cowboys 31 - 14 . Cruz finished the season with a single season franchise record 1 , 536 receiving yards on 82 receptions and 9 touchdowns . Cruz was named a Second - team All - Pro by the Associated Press . Against San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game , Cruz had 10 grabs for 142 yards — all in the first half — as the Giants edged the 49ers , 20 - 17 , in overtime to advance to Super Bowl XLVI . The Giants then won the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots for another Super Bowl title . Cruz has celebrated nearly every touchdown with a salsa dance . He stated that it was in honor of his deceased grandmother who taught him how to dance salsa and loved touchdown dances . The New York Daily News even had a dance instructor write about his technique . Cruz ' s touchdown dance led to him receiving an offer to appear on " Dancing with the Stars " , which he turned down . Personal life . Cruz has a daughter , Kennedy , with his long - time girlfriend , Elaina Watley . In the summer of 2010 , Cruz founded the " Young Whales " clothing line with former teammate Nate Collins . Cruz and former teammate Osi Umenyiora were among the brand ' s original models . Following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 , 2012 , Cruz honored one of the victims , Jack Pinto , age 6 . Pinto was a fan of Cruz , who wore a tribute on his shoes in the game against the Atlanta Falcons , which the Giants lost by a large margin , two days after the massacre . In permanent marker , one shoe read " R . I . P . Jack Pinto " and the other " Jack Pinto My Hero . " On December 19 , 2012 , he visited the Pinto family in Newtown , saying , " I felt like it was only right that I pay my respects to him and be as comforting to that family as much as I can . " Cruz gave the cleats and gloves he wore in the Falcons ' game to Pinto ' s brother , Ben .