Lyman Hall's Jason Perricone grows into football leader, Heart of a Giant finalist

Lyman Hall senior defensive back Jason Perricone, a nominee for the New York Giants' "Heart of Giant" contest, at practice at Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (Bryant Carpenter/Hearst Connecticut Media) WALLINGFORD - There was a moment that freshman season, as he lay upon the ground after getting trucked by a Lyman Hall teammate, that Jason Perricone pondered his high school football future.

>It's remarkable what can run through a mind, even one aching, in just a few seconds.

>"Is this really for me?"

>The season was almost over. Perricone had "bulked up" from 105 to 125 pounds, but he was still only 5-foot-2. Some guys were literally twice his size.

>"As I grow older, can I make the transition to varsity football?" he mused. "Varsity football: Kids are going to hit just as hard, if not harder."

>Up until that year, Perricone had never even played football, unless you count Madden NFL, but as much as video games leave your eyes glazed, they don't leave you flat on your back gazing at a steely November sky.

>Perricone steeled himself, just as he had when his parents divorced and he embraced the role as father figure to his three younger siblings.

>"Yeah, I think I can take this. I think I can put this step forward."

>And with that, Lyman Hall's 5-2, 125-pound rookie got back on his feet.

>"That's him in a nutshell," Lyman Hall coach CJ Monroe says three years later. "I saw him pop up and I was like, 'That's him.'"

>Which is why Monroe, after coming across information this summer about the New York Giants' Heart of a Giant contest that spotlights football players in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey with "a relentless work ethic and unmatched love for the game," put the name of his rising senior cornerback into the ring.

>Jason Perricone had never started a game, yet always followed through on so much: an academic load filled with Advanced Placement courses, a job that helps pay the bills, volunteer work at youth football camps and a "What can I do?" attitude with the Lyman Hall team.

>The undersized freshman who had once been knocked flat had never been knocked out. Last Friday night, two weeks into his senior season, Perricone made his first varsity start in Lyman Hall's 38-34 win over Branford.

>"He does it all, and he's a tremendous kid on top of it," Monroe said. "So when I saw that award come up, I said, 'This is Jason Perricone right here.'

>"He stayed every year, just kept getting better, getting stronger. You root for kids like that."

>Perricone now stands 5-foot-6. He goes about 160 pounds. He has a sister Sophia. She's in fourth grade. He also has two younger brothers, Logan and Bryce. They both play football. Logan, a sophomore, is an outside linebacker with the Trojans. Bryce, a seventh-grader, is a lineman with the Wallingford Vikings youth program.

>Both are bigger than Jason, but when they look at him, they look up.

>"He's kind of like a father figure to us," Logan said. "He brings food; he takes care of us. He's always trying to help out. He's always there for you."

>When their parents divorced six years ago, in the midst of COVID, Jason felt the responsibility to be the young man of the house.

>"I decided to be the one to step up, helping my mom with whatever I could - cooking, cleaning," he said.

>Jason was in middle school at the time. As soon as he turned 16, he got a job at Sliders Grill & Bar and has been there since, working 4 to 5 days a week during the summer, 15 hours a week during the school year, taking double shifts on NFL Sundays.

>Perricone was coming off a six-hour shift when he heard Monroe had nominated him for Heart of a Giant. Though dog-tired, his response goes a long way in explaining his 4.0 GPA and fiscal sensibility.

>"I was like, 'Let me do some research on this,' so I ended up looking into the award," he said. "I filled everything out to the best of my ability. I'm a good writer, so I was making everything sound the best I could.

>"Most importantly for me," he added, "is the grant for our football program. Every since Coach Monroe came in here we've been building this program from the ground up. I just realized everything could help, monetarily. These guys deserve this grant so much."

>The grants: Each weekly finalist for the Heart of a Giant Award earns $1,000 for their program. The grand-prize winner receives an additional $9,000.

>The contest runs for six weeks. Perricone was among the Week 1 nominees. The Week 2 group, for which voting is now open, features three more candidates from Connecticut: Zyyear Farrell of Bacon Academy and flag football players Kaiyah Hardy of Windsor and Jay'Dah Slade of Kolbe Cathedral.

>"Seeing the opportunity I had and seeing myself on the front page of all the finalists, I was like, 'Holy cow, this thing could really go somewhere,'" Perricone said. "Hopefully it does and makes this the best for our team."

>That Perricone has made his way up the ranks of Lyman Hall football is remarkable. A brief baseball stint aside, Perricone didn't play any sports at all prior to high school. His family did a double-take when he announced he was signing up for football freshman year.

>"I was pretty surprised because I never thought of him as an athletic kid," Logan said. "I saw him as a stay-inside kid."

>Among those who suggested Perricone play was Ryan Casey, who became Lyman Hall's starting quarterback that freshman year.

>"He's a great guy. I love having him around. He's one of the hardest workers I know," said Casey. "He really wanted to make a difference for this team and I knew he would be that kind of guy for the team. He sure has turned out as that."

>Perricone applied himself in the weight room and in the film room. He had to. He had to get stronger. He had to get better versed in the game. He didn't have the natural ability to just flip a switch. He had to study nuance: how and when a receiver released, how he moved, especially his hips. What were the tells?

>"Some corners, being lengthier guys, can get away with just getting sticky with (receivers) toward the end of the play," Perricone noted. "But as a smaller kid, you can't afford to mess up once in a rep or you'll lose the rep. You've got to be a student of the game, and I think that's what can help me being a coach in the future because you've really got to understand how you could be the best player and not (rely) more on what you're naturally gifted with."

>Perricone spent a lot of time growing up at his grandfather's beach house in Westbrook. He's interested in studying marine biology in college.

>If he pursues coaching as well, he's already honing the craft at the camps Lyman Hall stages for kids. Perricone gravitates to the smaller guys, the ones who haven't played much, who respond to a little extra attention.

>"I was that kid," Perricone said. "So I go out of my way sometimes to focus on them."

>Perricone shows them footwork, leads them through some extra drills. He might also want to share his big-picture take on the game. It's helped him navigate much beyond football.

>"Football puts you in a situation where you've got to look to your left, to your right and you realize you're going to be in some tough situations, and you've just got to keep going," Perricone said. "You've got to push through, power through, whatever it takes to put that foot forward."

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