Mendham High School Football Player Is ‘Heart Of A Giant' Nominee

MENDHAM, NJ — Football has been everything to Shane Sullivan, a student and player for West Morris Mendham High School.

He is one of the first nominees chosen for the 2021 Heart of a Giant Award, a special award from the New York Giants and Hospital for Special Surgery to recognize high school players from the tri-state area.

Sullivan’s coach Ethan Jeros was inspired by Sullivan, who has hurdled over his legal blindness to play the game. Among the criteria used to nominate football players, according to the award organizers, students are recognized by coaches “for their commitment, teamwork, will, character and dedication.”

Winners are eventually chosen for a grand prize, based on a video they submit answering “why they have the Heart of a Giant.”

Finalists will earn $1,000 for their high school and the grand prize winner's high school will be given $4,000 more.

For more about the program, click here.

“When I depict that he is enthusiastic each and every play of practice and/or games I am not exaggerating the least,” Jeros said of Sullivan.

“He [Sullivan] is a ball of fire every play, all for the benefit of our team, while he is the first to volunteer to do anything that is asked of the team,” Jeros added.

“Football has helped me a lot with the obstacles that I had to overcome,” said Sullivan, who described on the voting page that he “lives, breathes and loves the game of football.”

“With my eyesight, football has taught me that I do not have to see everything as long as I have good instincts and know what to do on a certain play,” Sullivan continued.

His dedication is so intense that during his freshman year, Sullivan said he continued to play - though he had broken a shoulder in practice - because he didn’t “want to miss one second of the game of football.”

Every week, six finalists will be picked, plus five who are “wild card finalists,” with 11 weekly.

To view all of the finalists and cast a vote, click here.

In addition to Sullivan, the other nominees are:

• Tayshawn Dixon, Notre Dame Catholic High School, Fairfield, Connecticut
• Juan Hughes, High Point Regional High School, Wantage, New Jersey
• Vaughn Kyer, Capital Prep Harlem, New York City, New York
• Kelvin Medina, Eastside High School, Paterson, New Jersey
• Andre Oben, St. Peter’s Prep, Jersey City, New Jersey
• Nicholas Palermo, Leonia High School, Leonia, New Jersey
• John Prince, Archbishop Stepinac High School, White Plains, New York
• Michael Sarlo, Wood-Ridge High School, Wood-Ridge, New Jersey
• Dylan Yang, Suffern Senior High School, Suffern, New York

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.