To you, Victor Cruz was a nobody on August 16, 2010. Few knew his name outside of the University of Massachusetts, where he starred in college. The draft community was aware of his presence, which made him the subject of wishcasting. If he overcame his size (5'11 ", 206 lbs at his Pro Day) and the New York Giants utilized him properly, then who knows, right'Take out the name and the date there, and insert the name of any undrafted rookie heading into his first preseason game. Every one of them would be an unknown, and for teams, those unknown players amount to little more than a lottery ticket. There's no draft capital invested, which means no guilt when they're axed at some point in August.The climb toward a roster spot can feel insurmountable for an undrafted rookie. That's why the preseason is their stage and perhaps their first and only chance to make an impression.We know this when football finally returns after a long hibernation throughout the winter, spring and most of summer. We know the starters only get extended playing time in Week 3 of the preseason, and even then, they are usually pulled early in the third quarter.Yet the focus throughout August primarily remains on those starters or the second team since there's only so much information we can process and absorb. We concentrate on the players we know and are familiar with.But the true heartbeat of the preseason lies in those undrafted players and late-round picks. They're clinging to careers after each carry and each catch and are fearful after every missed tackle. They're a bundle of nerves who know that the importance of capitalizing on opportunities is high and the number of chances can be exceedingly low.It's an experience that quickly separates those who can withstand the mental and physical rigors of football from the many others who can't quite compete at the professional level. The few who explode go through the unique rise of starting as a no-name player and becoming a household name.Which brings us back to that date of Aug. 16, 2010. That's when most of us met Cruz. What he did then still stands out six years later as the pinnacle of preseason performanceand a prime example of how an undrafted player can launch his career long after the starters have sat down.Cruz finished withthree touchdowns and145 yards on six receptions that evening, which is even more remarkable considering he didn't record his first career catch until the 2:40 mark of the third quarter.There was nothing normal about that game for Cruz and nothing that hinted at his undrafted status. He immediately went from an anonymous depth prospect with promise to someone soaring past the wildest expectations. It all started with his first reception.Cruz sprinted along the sideline and gained a half-step on New York Jets cornerback Dwight Lowery. He was still grappling with Lowery while in tight coverage about 15 yards downfield. The lofted ball from quarterback Jim Sorgi floated toward the boundary as both receiver and cornerback turned their heads.As Lowery lunged, Cruz reached out with one hand, cupping and corralling the ball in one motion.He did that under the glaring spotlight of Monday Night Football, which made a whole lot of eyebrows perk up as people went to their keyboards or clunky 2010 Blackberries and typed, "Who is Victor Cruz'"Among those taking notice was someone who never had to worry about clawing his way onto a roster:Cruz had been drawing attention throughout training camp. But this was his first chance to show that, yes, he belonged. In that moment, everything stood still."My heart was racing, and my mind was racing," Cruz told Bleacher Report during a phone conversation. "Everything kind of went dead silent as soon as I caught the ball and got into the end zone. I couldn't believe that I ever got into the end zone, let alone the way I did it."Then two more touchdowns followed, and Cruz finished the evening with three catches for 20-plus yards. Incredibly, he averaged 24.2 yards per catch.But it was after that first catch when the weight lifted and the spotlight wasn't quite as bright."It happened quickly," he said. "That first touchdown was the first ball thrown to me, so the next series when I started to get in a few run plays and some routes underneath me, I think that's when everything really slowed down and I got into my comfort zone a bit."A critical preseason moment is when an undrafted player becomes just a player. He never forgets that status, but as dazzling game film piles up, coaches and fans care little about how high you were draftedor if you were drafted at all.As August moved forward, Cruz kept making everyone remember his name. In Week 3 of the preseason, he caught four passes for 76 yards and another touchdown. His totals were astronomical considering the few opportunities he received and the second- and third-team units Cruz took the field with.With each game, practice and route run, his confidence grew. There was still work to be done, though, and the near silence of his coaches even after Cruz's sudden opening-night preseason outburst came with a purpose."They would tell me 'good job' and things like that," Cruz said. "But they were just making sure I wasn't getting too big-headed. They wanted to keep me humble and make sure I was doing all the little things I needed to do and still be on top of my game mentally and physically."The thirst for that affirmation is natural in very human, especially for a young player trying to establish himself at the highest level of football. But often the undrafted player isn't mentally handcuffed to that praise early in his career. He didn't get it during the draft, so why would it come now'"I just accepted it and knew it was a process that I had to take one day at a time and continue to work at my craft and at what I needed to do to get better," Cruz said."Obviously, you want the accolades so they know that you have done a job and you're doing something that's pretty rare. You want that initially, but I understood that this is football, and you're only as good as your last play."Now when he looks back on that game, that time and that August, Cruz sees a launching point. But he does that only with the benefit of hindsight. What's his advice to the other Cruz-like prospects who made their NFL debuts this past week and will keep looking to leave their mark throughout the preseason'Don't think about launching."I think you just need to go out there and understand that you're not going to score 100 touchdowns in one play. You're not going to make 20 tackles in one quarter. You have to just take it one day at a time, and one play at a time, and make sure that when the opportunity comes for you to make a play, you make it."That's the biggest thing. You need to understand those moments when you have to make a play and then actually go out there and show the world that you can do it, and you have the talent to do whatever it is you want to out there on the football field."There's a sprinkle of cliche-speak in there. But when Cruz speaks, he does it with conviction, giving you the impression he's an example of the powerful underdog's mind at work.When odds feel insurmountable, thinking is restricted to simplicity. For those chasing roster spots, there isn't a grand view of the entire preseason or a hope that X amount of yards, catches, tackles or touchdowns will be reached. Instead, the focus is singular.You focus on the here and the now. You focus on the next play and, in Cruz's case, the next route. You digest your effort to do something rare in bite-sized chunks, an attitude that persists once the undrafted player scales his mountain successfully.That's how Cruz elevated himself to finish with 1,536 yards on 82 receptions (a whopping 18.7 per catch) in just his second NFL season. Other great undrafted players in league history have no doubt taken a similar preseason approach.You become shortsighted with a purpose during the cloudiness of training camp, when rosters carry up to 90 players and position depth charts are bursting at the seams.The more you execute and improve each day, the more a larger, long-term vision comes into focus.
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