The New York Giants began the 2023 NFL season with high hopes. They were coming off their first playoff appearance in six years and thought they would take the next step up the NFC hierarchy. But the football gods had different ideas. The team reverted back to their old ways, losing several key players to long-term injuries, including their top two quarterbacks, Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor.

That thrust an unlikely local hero into the spotlight. Tommy DeVito, an undrafted local free agent who played his college football at Illinois and Syracuse, stepped in and created a mini-hysteria in the same way Jeremy Lin did with the Knicks a few years back.