By Ross Vocaturo ’25
Almost 8 years ago to the day, the Don Bosco Ironmen would win their 15th Football State Championship, which would go on to be the final Championship run of the iconic Greg Toal era, and has since been the program’s most recent title. And a major staple of that 2015 run was the local kid under center, the hometown hero in the making who would make two stops at the collegiate level before coming full circle and taking snaps less than an hour away from his family home in nearby Cedar Grove: Tommy DeVito (Class of 2017).

When Devito’s run in Ramsey came to an end, he was ticketed with a following chapter in Syracuse. Three years into his stint in upstate New York, he entered the NCAA transfer portal and ultimately landed as an Illinois Fighting Illini. His tenure in the Prairie State only lasted a year, and after going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, the local New York Giants took a flier on him by signing him to their practice squad.

Not much was initially thought of the addition to the practice squad. With the Giants recently coming to terms with franchise quarterback Daniel Jones on a long-term contract, the G-Men looked to have finally found the solution to one of the significant problems that had been holding them back for years. With that, Devito was assumed to have a little-to-no significant role as a Giant, and was only kept as a placeholder on the practice squad until a spot opened up elsewhere in the league. However, Devito would get some chances in the pre-season, so much so that he would connect with another Don Bosco alumnus, Tommy Sweeney, for a touchdown pass in a game against the Detroit Lions. The play was good for some social media fodder (specifically, among current and former Don Bosco Ironmen), but aside from it being a local feel-good story, there was nothing much to it from a national standpoint.
This year, the Giants got off to as bad a start to their season as imaginable. As hopeful of an opening night for Giants fans in recent memory quickly turned into an onslaught by the visiting arch rival Dallas Cowboys, the final score standing at a brutal 40-0. The following week, the Giants quickly fell behind an uncompetitive Arizona Cardinals, taking a 20-0 deficit into the half; with that, the Giants had gone through the first 6 quarters of the season without scoring a single point. However, second half heroics from Daniel Jones and the Giants offense led New York towards 24 unanswered points en route to a 31-28 win. There were still question marks looming over the team, though, due to the fact that a last-second comeback was needed to put away one of the league’s worst teams.
Losses to the 49ers and Seahawks would put the Giants at a dubious 1-3 record to start the season. Bu,t it wasn’t until Week 5 in Miami that the train really started coming off the tracks. Daniel Jones had re-aggravated a neck injury he suffered earlier on in his career. As a result, career journeyman Tyrod Taylor, who’s also no stranger to significant injuries, took over under center for a couple of weeks while Jones was down. Two weeks later (loss @ BUF, win vs WSH), Tyrod would go down with his latest injury, causing DeVito to take the field for the remainder of the game against the Jets. DeVito finished the game with 2 completions on 7 attempts; meanwhile, the Giants coughed up their late 10-7 lead by allowing a Zach Wilson to make quick work of their defense on regulation’s final drive, before Greg Zurlein would both tie and inevitably win the game for a 13-10 overtime win for “Gang Green.”

Later that week, Taylor would be put on injured reserve; however, Daniel Jones would make a return from his respective injury. Jones’ comeback was short-lived, due to a non-contact injury, and DeVito was once again tossed into a game during play, which wound up being a 30-6 blowout loss at the hands of recently hired Head Coach and former Giants linebacker, Antonio Pierce, and the Las Vegas Raiders.
With NYG’s two rostered quarterbacks unavailable, a path was dug for DeVito to get his first NFL start the following Sunday against who else but “America’s Team” and one of the Giants’ archrivals: the Dallas Cowboys. DeVito’s first start did not go well, only throwing for 86 yards on 14 completions with 2 touchdown passes and an interception; the team got embarrassed by a final score of 49-17 in Arlington. DeVito rebounded quickly the following week, tripling his yards total (246 to be exact) with 3 TDs and no interceptions in a 31-19 win over the Commanders, and Devito’s first in the NFL. His second win came at the hands of Bill Belichick’s Patriots, though it was the defense who stood out in the 10-7 final. DeVito did have 191 yards on the day, however.
At this point, eyes were beginning to turn on the feel-good story in New York. Devito’s signature Italian hand gesture had become his unofficial trademark, along with the “Tommy D” nickname that made the rounds. He began making appearances at local delis, bakeries, even returning to the Don Bosco campus to talk to the football team. Despite this attention, some critics were questioning the validity of his recent success. Some cited the level of opponents his wins came against; others pointed to his inconsistent box scores. But, with playoff hopes becoming a severely cautious optimism (contrary to essentially being a non-thought weeks prior), DeVito had a big opportunity to plead his case once again: a primetime Monday night game against the surging Green Bay Packers.

With the game broadcast on ESPN, DeVito had his first chance to tell his story on the national stage. His off-the-field Italian shtick continued when cameras pointed to him in conversation with his agent Sean Stellato, who was dressed like a carbon copy of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas (who is coincidentally named “Tommy DeVito”). Throughout the game, numerous references were made of DeVito and his story, including a graphic that included pictures of Tommy’s State Championship run right here at Bosco. The game itself would go back and forth, but it was the Giants who eventually won the game on a Randy Bullock walk-off kickoff, snapping the Packers’ 3-game winning streak with a 24-22 Giants win. The “Tommy D” story only gained more traction by the day.

After riding high off the win versus Green Bay, the DeVito-led Giants got a dose of reality in the French Quarter. Despite being winners of three straight of their own, this Giants team was realistically not in position to contend for a playoff spot. And while the three-week story of a local kid getting his shot and making the most of it made up for an otherwise miserable Giants campaign from every other facet, the Saints laid a beating on the Big Blue, winning 24-6. It got to the point where Saints’ edge rushers began mimicking Devito’s signature hand gesture; in addition, Saints specials teams coach Darren Rizzi, an alumnus of Bergen Catholic, wore a “BC” shirt during pregame warmups, an obvious dig at the classic local rivalry. DeVito’s story had now turned into bulletin board material for opposing teams.

Fuel was added to the fire on Christmas Day when a lethargic start to Devito’s night in Philadelphia led to him being benched for the recently-cleared Tyrod Taylor. DeVito’s stat line read 55 yards on 9 completions and 16 attempts. The game itself would wind up being a 33-25 barn burner that the Eagles narrowly escaped with a win. In Devito’s case, this game would put another damper on his season, and would go on to be his final appearance for the season; Taylor started the final two games, with the Giants mathematically being eliminated from playoff contention following the loss in Philly.

While the end of the run wound up being somewhat anticlimactic, the story itself won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Many in the media compared “Tommy D’s” emergence at the professional level to the infamous “Linsanity” run from Knicks guard Jeremy Lin in 2012. However, while Lin’s story still holds significance more than a decade later, DeVito being raised and currently still living in nearby Cedar Grove added more traction to the already-booming story. It’s unknown what the future has in store for DeVito’s career in the NFL. It’s unlikely that he walks onto a starting gig, whether it be staying in New York or landing a deal elsewhere. But, regardless of where the next chapter of his story winds up being, this first chapter will be one he’ll have bookmarked forever.