Tommy DeVito (American football)

Thomas N. DeVito (born August 7, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orange and the Illinois Fighting Illini. He signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

Early years
Born in Livingston, New Jersey, DeVito grew up in nearby Cedar Grove and attended Don Bosco Preparatory High School. He was named first team All-State by MSG and second team All-Metro after passing for 1,800 yards and 18 touchdowns in his junior season as the Ironmen went 9–3 and won the Non-Public 4 state championship. Following his junior year, DeVito competed in the Elite 11 quarterback competition and was named a finalist. As a senior, he passed for 2,005 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions and played in the Under Armour All-American Game. DeVito committed to play college football at Syracuse at the end of his junior year over offers from Yale, Boston College, Penn, Rutgers, Maryland and Temple.

2018 season
DeVito redshirted his true freshman season. He served mostly as the backup to starting quarterback Eric Dungey as a redshirt freshman, playing in eight games off the bench and completing 44 of 87 passes for 525 yards and four touchdowns. DeVito's first significant action came on September 15, 2018, against the Florida State Seminoles, entering the game after Dungey suffered an injury and completing 11 of 16 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for a touchdown as the Orange won 30–7. DeVito again played in relief of an injured Dungey on October 10 against the North Carolina Tar Heels, and he led Syracuse to a 40–37 win in double overtime, throwing for 181 yards with three touchdowns and one interception on 11-for-19 passing.

2019 season
As a redshirt sophomore, DeVito passed for 2,360 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He passed for a career-high 330 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a 63–20 loss to the Maryland Terrapins.

2020 season
In 2020, DeVito completed 48-of-96 pass attempts for 593 yards and four touchdowns through the first four games of the season before suffering a season-ending leg injury against Duke.

2021 season
Entering his fifth year at Syracuse, all with Babers as head coach, DeVito was compared to a franchise quarterback for Syracuse with the two having an intimate and trusting relationship. DeVito began his redshirt senior season as Syracuse's starter, but coach Dino Babers also planned to give meaningful playing time to Garrett Shrader, a dual-threat quarterback who had transferred in from Mississippi State University.

DeVito played most of the season opener against the Ohio Bobcats, a 29-9 win, completing 11 of 17 passes for 92 yards and added 47 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The following week, Syracuse lost the home opener against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 17–7, with DeVito completing 15 of 25 passing attempts for 149 yards and one interception, five sacks, and one fumble, in split time with Shrader. DeVito mentioned in a postgame interview he knew Babers planned to play both quarterbacks during the game. Babers also told the media both quarterbacks would play in the third game against the Albany Great Danes; and that he planned to make a final decision on the starter based on that game. DeVito was defiant in a press conference before the Albany game, responding, "I've done exactly what I've needed to" when asked if he thought he had earned the starting spot, while also describing how defenses had caught onto the run-pass option (RPO) offense Syracuse was running, and thus it had become a more difficult system to run in the years since Jimmy Garoppolo ran the offense for Babers at Eastern Illinois University to great success.

DeVito entered the NCAA transfer portal six weeks into the season.

Illinois
DeVito ultimately transferred to Illinois. He was named the Fighting Illini's starting quarterback during fall practices. On October 1, against the Wisconsin Badgers, DeVito had three rushing touchdowns in the 34–10 victory. In the 2022 season, DeVito passed for 2,650 yards, 15 touchdowns, and four interceptions to go along with six rushing touchdowns. DeVito sought a waiver for an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA to play another season at Illinois, but was denied.

Professional career
DeVito was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2023, shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 NFL draft. DeVito was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad.

In Week 8, DeVito made his NFL debut on October 29, 2023, against the New York Jets, after an injury to second-string quarterback Tyrod Taylor. DeVito completed two out of seven pass attempts and was sacked twice, but scored the Giants' only touchdown on a six-yard run. DeVito was signed to the Giants active roster on October 31. In Week 9, he entered the game against the Las Vegas Raiders in relief of an injured Daniel Jones and threw for 175 yards and his first NFL passing touchdown, but also had two interceptions. In Week 10, DeVito was named the starting quarterback for the game against the Dallas Cowboys. DeVito threw for 86 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in a 49–17 loss. In Week 11, DeVito started against the Washington Commanders. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns but was sacked nine times. Despite the sacks, the Giants won 31–19, making DeVito the first winning quarterback to be sacked nine times or more in a game since 1992. In Week 12, DeVito started in a 10–7 victory against the New England Patriots. He completed 17 passes in 25 attempts for 191 yards and threw a touchdown pass.

Following their bye week, DeVito led the Giants to their third consecutive victory, defeating the Green Bay Packers 24–22. DeVito went 17 for 21 and 158 passing yards, throwing one touchdown with no interceptions, plus 71 rushing yards on 10 carries. Taking possession with about a minute and a half on the clock, DeVito went 4 for 4 driving his team down the field for the winning field goal by Randy Bullock as time expired. DeVito was named NFC offensive player of the week for his performance. After losing 24–6 to the New Orleans Saints, DeVito was benched in favor of Taylor at halftime of the Giants' Week 16 game against the Philadelphia Eagles after completing nine of 16 passes for only 55 yards as the Giants trailed 20–3. Taylor was later named the starter for the remainder of the season.

As the season progressed, DeVito quickly became a fan favorite, both for going from an undrafted third string rookie quarterback to leading an underachieving Giants team to some surprising success, and also for being openly proud of his Italian heritage. He was given the nickname "Tommy Cutlets" in reference to his Italian heritage and mentioning that he likes to eat his mother's chicken cutlets. DeVito won the Bud Light Celebration of the Year Award at the 13th Annual NFL Honors.

Personal life
Due to the close proximity of his parents’ home to the Giants' facilities, DeVito elected to live with them during his rookie season.