Jerome Cunningham living out his dream in the NFL

In 2008, Jerome Cunningham was honing his receiving skills in Jason Martinez’s spread offense at Crosby High School in Waterbury.
Fast forward to Saturday, and Cunningham made the 53-man New York Giants roster for the second straight year. It’s been a pretty amazing journey for Cunningham, who is one of three tight ends on the NYG roster. Cunningham, 24, is listed at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds.
Cunningham was on the Giants roster for the final two games of the 2014 season, but he was inactive, according to his profile on the team website. Cunningham signed as a rookie free agent on Aug. 5, then was waived on Aug. 26. A little over a week later, Cunningham was signed to the practice squad (Sept. 3). He became a member of the active roster on Dec. 17.
I saw Cunningham play for Crosby on Sept. 19, 2008, in a game against Torrington at Torrington High School. Crosby’s dynamic passing game was led by quarterback David Gondek, and one of his receiving targets was Cunningham, who also played tight end in high school. Crosby won the game 34-7, one of nine victories on the season (9-2). Cunningham had six catches for 91 yards that night, according to statistics posted on MaxPreps.com.
After high school, Cunnigham headed off to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. He suited up for the Owls from 2009 to 2012 and finished his career with 61 catches for 690 yards to go along with seven touchdowns.
The longest catch in Cunningham’s career at SCSU was 34 yards. In a preseason game Friday night against the New England Patriots, Cunningham hauled in a pass from backup quarterback Ryan Nassib (Syracuse) for 33 yards.
When the 53-man roster was announced, head coach Tom Coughlin had good things to say about Cunningham.
“There hasn’t been many big plays the whole fall (preseason), but Cunningham made a couple of them, outstanding catches,” Coughlin said in an article written by Michael Eisen that was posted on the Giants’ website.
Cunningham joins Larry Donnell and Daniel Fells at the tight end position on the NYG roster. 
Cunningham once again finds himself with the New York Giants, but this time, he’s starting out as a roster member from the outset. It’s an exciting time for Cunningham, who got his start in the Naugatuck Valley League.
Cunningham had this to say on Instagram on Saturday: “If I’m not going to get it, that day is going to waste. My motto that pushed me this offseason, OTA’s, and Training Camp. I’m living proof that if you don’t give up your dreams can come true!”