Greg Schiano was immersed with recruiting work last Saturday night, poring over tape of prospective players he’s trying to bring to the Ohio State football program as National Signing Day fast approaches.
But Schiano, now the defensive coordinator and associate head coach at Ohio State, could not keep his eyes off the television, where three of his former Rutgers players were starring as game-changers in the Patriots’ 34-16 AFC Divisional playoff win over the Texans.
“I was working, but also was trying to steal a peek whenever I could,’’ Schiano told The Post on Friday. “After the game, I went back and watched all three of those plays. I just had to.’’
The three plays to which Schiano referred were the second-half interceptions made by Devin McCourty, Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon — all three Rutgers players whom Schiano, the Rutgers head coach from 2001-11, recruited to the school and prepared for their NFL careers.
Three interceptions in one game by three different players from the same school. The moments made history. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that never before had happened in an NFL game.
“You feel like a proud father watching it,’’ Schiano said.
First, there was McCourty, a safety converted from cornerback, brilliantly diagnosing exactly where Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler was going to go with the ball, stepping in front of receiver DeAndre Hopkins and picking off the pass near the sideline in the third quarter with New England leading 24-13.
Then came Ryan, a cornerback who, with the Patriots clinging to a 24-16 lead in the third quarter, intercepted a deflected Osweiler pass and returned it 23 yards to the Houston 6-yard line to set up a touchdown that extended the New England lead to 31-16.
Finally, there was Harmon, a safety, picking off Osweiler in front of the New England goal line with three minutes remaining in the game to guarantee the Patriots’ ticket to Sunday’s AFC Championship against the Steelers at Gillette Stadium.
“A big day for Rutgers,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after the game.
“A big day for Rutgers,’’ Belichick repeated, flashing a very rare smile.
McCourty was drafted by the Patriots in the first round in 2010, and Ryan and Harmon were third-round picks in 2013. Linebacker Jonathan Freeny, who’s on injured reserve, is the fourth Rutgers alumnus on the Patriots. At one point in 2013, the Patriots had eight Rutgers players on their 90-man roster.
The Belichick-Rutgers connection is multi-fold. He always has had an affinity for players coached by Schiano, known for preparing his players for the NFL. And Belichick’s son and current safeties coach, Steve, also is a Rutgers alum.
Eric LeGrand, the Rutgers defensive lineman who suffered a spinal cord injury and was paralyzed in a 2010 game while covering a kickoff, played with McCourty, Ryan and Harmon and felt like leaping out of his wheelchair while watching the New England win over the Texans.
“I was tweeting about it all night,’’ LeGrand said. “They always talk about how Rutgers is ‘DBU’ for Defensive Back University.’’
When he heard Belichick’s comments about the “big night for Rutgers,’’ LeGrand said, “That’s the greatest coach of all time and he’s shouting out Rutgers. That’s special.’’
The Post asked both LeGrand and Schiano for their fondest memories of all three defensive backs. LeGrand’s thoughts:
McCourty: “One of the smartest players I’ve ever seen. I remember watching him study film, and at meetings every time coach [Schiano] would try to trick us on a question, Devin always fired back at him with the right answer.’’
Ryan: “He’s physically gifted. He’s a lock-down corner. Devin is a mental player. Logan is a physical player — a ‘line up and I’m going to be with you all game’ player. He’s like that little annoying gnat that’s always on you and around your face.’’
Harmon: “He’s the type of player that’s always doing everything right. Whatever the coach was asking of him he was doing, whether he was starting safety, on kickoff team, or backing up something.’’
Schiano’s thoughts on the three:
McCourty: “Devin, coming out of high school [St. Joseph of Montvale, N.J.], was not a highly recruited player. Jason [his brother] was a little more highly recruited, but neither one of them were these can’t-miss guys. [High school coach] Tony Karcich at St. Joe’s told me, ‘These two guys, they’re special.’ I basically went on Tony’s recommendation, and boy was he right.’’
Ryan: “Logan probably played a little earlier than he should have at Rutgers, because we had a need. His first game, he had a tough game against North Carolina on the road, and I remember visiting with him after the game and you could just see that was never going to happen again. He vowed that would never happen again, and it never did. He had a heck of a career from that point forward.’’
Harmon: “He got in that secondary room and became a mad preparer as well. All of a sudden he started making plays all over the place. I remember him making game-winning plays. People say, ‘He was in the right place at the right time.’ Well, yes he was, but it wasn’t by accident. He prepared and anticipated.’’
Preparation, hard work and selflessness are the common denominators to these three players and the reason Belichick so often has sipped from the Schiano-Rutgers well over the years.
“There’s no magic sauce,’’ Schiano said. “I think the two biggest things are unselfish players and guys that are willing to prepare, willing to work. If you have guys that aren’t self-centered and that are team-centered, willing to put the time in and prepare, if they have any ability they’re going to do really well.
“That’s always been our formula and also always has been coach Belichick’s formula.’’