What a guy! Eric LeGrand takes girl with cerebral palsy to prom

EAST HANOVER — Prom can be a stressful time for anyone, but former football player Eric LeGrand made sure at least one New Jersey senior didn't have to scramble for a date.

It all started with LeGrand's "promposal" to Gianna Brunini in front of 400 students at a Hanover Park High School assembly in May. Brunini's aunt had written to Good Morning America about finding a prom date for her niece, and after countless agents began calling the family, LeGrand emailed Brunini's mother Maryann Brunini asking if he could surprise her daughter with a promposal.

Brunini, an 18-year-old girl diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age two, befriended LeGrand at a Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation years ago. LeGrand suffered a paralyzing injury during a game in 2010, leaving him in a wheelchair.

"(LeGrand) called me on stage and said he had two questions, but here only asked one, so that's when I knew something was going down but I still had no clue," Gianna Brunini said. "I would've said yes if he just asked me for coffee."

A month after the promposal, Brunini and LeGrand attended Hanover Park High School's prom on June 9 at Brookdale County Club.

Brunini dressed in glimmering turquoise for the dance. More than two dozen family and friends clapped and shouted as she came out on the deck to meet LeGrand.

"I had fun at prom," Gianna Brunini said. "My favorite part was dancing and spending time with Eric and spending time with my friends."

On the dancefloor, Gianna Brunlini had the song "Don't Stop Believin'" dedicated to LeGrand and herself. The two danced while her classmates stood in a circle around them, she said.

LeGrand's mother helped put on the corsage and flower lapel, and Brunini and her family presented LeGrand with Rutgers cufflinks. The pair then rolled down a red carpet and off to Brooklake Country Club for the night.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.