LINDENHURST, N.Y. — New York Jets rookie Jeremy Ruckert stood inside the ice cream shop he frequented as a kid, making small talk with the locals. This time, he wasn’t there for a milkshake or a banana split. On this day, a postcard-worthy Sunday in May, he was top billing on the menu.
For the 6-foot-5 tight end, drafted three weeks earlier by the team he grew up rooting for, this was a cherry-on-top moment. Ruckert, 21, signed autographs and posed for pictures for two hours. Music blared from a makeshift DJ booth on the sidewalk outside Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices, a popular chain in the New York area and a staple in this community for 25 years. More than 100 people waited in a line that never seemed to get shorter.
There were Jets jerseys in the crowd — Joe Namath’s, Curtis Martin’s, even Ryan Fitzpatrick’s. One guy, decked out in Ruckert’s Ohio State “88” jersey, said he drove five hours to be there. A handful of police officers, ostensibly on hand for crowd control along bustling Montauk Highway, poked their heads inside to sneak a peek at Lindenhurst’s biggest rock star since Pat Benatar.
“You always want to see a kid from the hometown go to the big show,” said store owner Michael Felicetti, who celebrated Ruckert-to-the-Jets by giving away free vanilla and pistachio soft-serve cones — part of the town’s post-draft Green & White Day. “This is simply amazing to see it happen in our hometown.”
CONFIRMED: @Jeremy_Ruckert1‘s dad is a legend pic.twitter.com/RDrLIemJEj
— New York Jets (@nyjets) May 23, 2022
The next day, Ruckert drove to the Jets’ facility in Florham Park, New Jersey, for another autograph. Surrounded by his parents and two brothers, he finalized his rookie contract — four years, $5 million. As he signed, his father, wearing a Jets T-shirt, broke out into the team’s famous chant:
“J-E-T-S. Jets! Jets! Jets!”
Growing up with the Jets
Despite being the fourth-most populated state, New York isn’t a hotbed for NFL talent. In 2022, Ruckert was the only player from a New York high school drafted by the NFL, according to the league. Consider the odds: In 2017, his final season at Lindenhurst High School, 46,000 played high school football according to the state’s athletic association.
That he was selected by his hometown team — the team his father worships — makes the story equal parts heartwarming and…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – NFL Nation…