To get from Morse Field at the University of Maine campus in Orono to the Meadowlands turf in East Rutherford, N.J., one would have to travel nearly 475 miles. But for the majority of the players who have been in the Black Bears football program, that distance probably seemed a lot further.

That wasn’t the mindset for former Maine defensive end Mike DeVito, however, and he showed how far he's come on Sunday when the undrafted rookie was activated for the first time in his NFL career and played in his first game against the Bills.

“It was a nice surprise to finally get ready on Sunday and feel like a part of what’s going on. To get out there and to be able to play was a lot of fun,” DeVito said Wednesday. “It was just wild. I didn’t really think about it till after the game was over but it was cool to get out there and finally get some action.”

DeVito was also lucky enough to enjoy the momentous occasion with some family in the stands. He is originally from New York and most of his extended family still live in the New York/New Jersey area.

“My mom and dad were back at home, but my cousins and everybody from Long Island was at the game. They were excited to see me out there and happy to see me playing,” said the only free agent rookie to make the Jets' active roster this season.

The 23-year-old wasn’t eased into the lineup with a few special teams plays, either. DeVito saw considerable action in the second quarter alone, including several plays in a row at left end.

The Jets had just tied the Bills at 3-3 when DeVito first checked into the game, meaning the coaching staff clearly has confidence in him. And he has confidence in himself from the amount of reps he has received in practice against the Jets' first-string offense.

“I get to do the scout team and stuff against these guys every week,” he said, pointing around the Jets locker room. “They go fast and they go hard all the time, so I kind of had some idea of how it’s going to be and I was pretty well prepared.

“The coaches did a great job helping me adapt to the 3-4 defense because I played the 4-3 in college and there’s a difference in techniques there,” he added. “Being able to adapt to the speed of the game and how fast everything was going took some time early on, but I was ready and it all came pretty natural.”

DeVito wasn’t the only former Division I-AA college player to receive his first career activation. Guard Jacob Bender, the Jets' sixth-round draft pick out of Nicholls State, also caught his first official glimpse of Sunday football.

“I was on the field for one field goal snap, that’s it,” said Bender as he smiled to a small group of reporters. “It was a good feeling to be out there, but unfortunately they didn’t rush to my side so I didn’t get to hit anybody. But whatever.”

Now that both of these players have reached their first milestones, they know the next steps will only get more difficult.

“It’s good to finally break the ice and get out there and get a couple of reps," said DeVito. "But now I just have to build on that and keep working hard so that I can get out there more and more.”

Whether DeVito gets activated again this weekend against the Redskins has yet to be determined. The only thing he can do is continue to prove himself at practice and in meetings and hope he gets another shot.

“Maybe it was an improvement in my practice or maybe the coaches saw something in me that made them want to give me a shot, I'm not sure,” he said. “I think I try to come with the same approach that everybody else does: practice hard and play hard and prepare as much as I can in the little amount of time for the next opponent.”

Although the Jets were heading into the weekend with an empty roster spot due to Jonathan Vilma’s injury, head coach Eric Mangini insisted it was DeVito’s hard work that led to his activation.

“The guys that have worked hard in practice are doing a lot of positive things and need to get a chance to play,” Mangini said Monday. “That chance doesn't come just because they're on the team. It comes because they've created that. That's how we approach it with the whole roster. Guys are creating those opportunities and we are giving it to them.”