Victor Cruz

Weight:
200
Class:
Redshirt Junior
Hometown:
Paterson, N.J.
High School:
Paterson Catholic
Prev School:
Brighton Academy (Maine)

2009 - Redshirt Senior

• 2009 CAA All-Conference First Team
• 2009 College Sporting News Preseason Third Team All-American
• 2009 Consensus Draft Services Honorable Mention All-American
• 2009 Preseason All-CAA by Coaches and Phil Steele Magazine
• Fourth in career catches list with 131. All but one of those catches came during junior and senior years
• Fifth all-time at UMass in career receiving yards (1,958)
• Became ninth UMass player with 100 career catches during the 2009 meeting with UNH
• Tied for 12th all-time with 11 career receiving touchdowns
• Ranked third in the CAA and 27th in the NCAA in receiving yards per game (78.9) with team-best 868 yards in 11 games on 59 catches, 5.4 per game - third in the CAA and 40th in the NCAA
• Finished career with a 22-game catch streak dating to Sept. 6, 2008
• Senior year total of 59 catches ranked as eight-most in a season at UMass
• Total of 868 yards ranked as 11th-most in a season in team history
• Six career 100-yard games; three as a senior (Albany, Delaware and Hofstra)
• Team's top punt returner with 15 returns for 65 yards, which ranked seventh in the CAA (4.3 per return)
• In college finale, racked up 11 catches for 155 yards at Hofstra (11/21)
• Eleven catches vs. Hofstra ranked tied for fourth-most in a game in school history
• Hauled in five balls for 88 yards, including an 11-yard TD catch, in win over Northeastern (11/7)
• Eight catches (seven in the second half) for 73 yards at Maine (10/31)
• Caught four passes for 58 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown, at No. 1 Richmond (10/24)
• Went over 100 career catches in win over No. 4 New Hampshire (10/17) with six catches for 83 yards
• Grabbed eight balls for 118 yards at Delaware (10/10)
• Six catches for 96 yards including a 5-yard touchdown reception in win over Rhode Island (9/19)
• Fourth-career 100-yard game against Albany (9/12) with six catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67-yard TD, the second-longest reception of his career
• Had two catches for 44 yards at Kansas State (9/5)

2008 - Redshirt Junior

• College Sporting News Honorable Mention All-American
• All-CAA First Team
• Led UMass in receiving with 71 catches for 1,064 yards and six touchdowns
• Became the sixth 1,000-yard receiver in a single season in UMass history
• In 12 games, had the fourth-best single-season receiving yards total and fifth-best in catches for a year
• Led the CAA and ranked13th in NCAA in receiving yards per game with 88.7
• Also ranked first in CAA and tied for 20th in FCS with 5.92 catches per game
• Had two games with 10 or more catches and three games with 100 or more yards
• Posted the top performance by a receiver in UMass history with a school-record 262 yards on school-record-tying 13 catches at No. 7 James Madison (9/13)
• Also scored first two career touchdowns at JMU while the 262 receiving yards ranks fourth in conference history.
• Went over 1,000-yard mark for the season with nine catches for 80 yards at No. 13 New Hampshire (11/15)
• Three catches vs. Hofstra (11/22) for 16 yards and three catches for 45 yards vs. Maine (11/8)
• Second career two-touchdown game came on seven catches for 129 yards at Rhode Island (11/1)
• Grabbed three balls for 93 yards against Bryant (10/25), including a 37-yard touchdown in the first quarter
• Game-best eight catches and 81 yards including a 22-yard touchdown vs. Richmond (10/18)
• Made 10 catches for 139 yards at Northeastern (10/11)
• Grabbed five balls for 76 yards vs. No. 16 Delaware (10/4)
• Led UMass with five catches for 54 yards at No. 11 FBS-ranked Texas Tech (9/20)
• Posted five catches for 89 yards at Holy Cross (9/6)

2007 - Redshirt Sophomore

• Played in the final eight games of the season
• Made one catch for 26 yards, for his first collegiate reception, against New Hampshire (11/10)
• Also carried the ball twice on reverses against Villanova (10/13) and Northeastern (10/20)

2006 - Redshirt Freshman

Did not play

2005 - Freshman

• Redshirt season

Before UMass

• Spent fall of 2004 at Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine for a post-graduate semester
• Graduated from Paterson Catholic High School in Paterson, N.J.
• Two-way star in high school at wide receiver and defensive back for the Parochial Group 1 champions
• All-State honoree as a senior
• Played for Head Coach Benjie Wimberle
• Helped the team go undefeated (11-0) in 2003
• Made 42 catches for 731 yards
• Totaled 19 touchdowns his senior year, including 15 receiving, one rushing, one on a punt return, one on a kick return and one on an interception return
• Scored two of those scores in less than 30 seconds on an interception and a kickoff return
• A First Team All-North Jersey, First-Team All-Passaic County, first team All-B.P.S.L., first team Parochial All-State and second-team Associated Press All-State selection
• Played in the North-South All-Star Football Classic at Rutgers Stadium
• Also a member of the basketball team

Personal

• Son of Blanca Cruz
• Played with fellow Paterson resident Cesar Rosario at UMass from 2005-07
• Majoring in African-American Studies

CAREER STATISTICS (RECEIVING)

Year      GP-GS    Rec.     Yds.      YPC     TD       Lg.     YPG
2007      8-0           1          26          26.0      0          26       3.3
2008      12-12       71        1064      15.0      6          69       88.7
2009      11-10       59        868        14.7      5          67       78.9
Totals   31-22       131      1958      15.0      11        69       63.2

CAREER HIGHS

Receptions: 13 at James Madison (9/13/08) - tied school record
Receiving Yards: 262 at James Madison (9/13/08) - reset school record
Longest Reception: 69 at James Madison (9/13/08)
Touchdown Receptions: 2 three times, last vs. Albany (9/12/09)
100-Yard Receiving Games: 6, last at Hofstra (11/21/09)
Consecutive Games With A Reception: 22 (9/6/08-11/21/09)