NFL

Bryant’s Seahawks headed to game wife’s father never reached

When Jacob Green found out the oldest of his three daughters, Janelle, was dating a Texas A&M football player named Red Bryant, Green worked his sources. Once a star player for the Aggies, Green walked into the coaches office and asked about this new boyfriend.

“I asked the coach what kind of guy he was and he told me, ‘If I had a daughter, Red Bryant would be the guy I have on this team that I would want her to marry,’ ’’ Green told The Post. “That was pretty good to me.’’

Red and Janelle are about to celebrate their fifth anniversary, and the family is staging something of a celebration this weekend in, of all places, the New York/New Jersey area. Bryant will start at defensive end for the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII, part of the league’s best defensive unit. Green, his father-in-law, will be on the scene, not only in support of his son-in-law, but also representing the Seahawks as one of the best players to ever don their uniform.

Green, 57, is one of the most beloved former Seahawks, one of nine players inducted into the franchise’s elite Ring of Honor. He spent the first 12 of his 13-year NFL career in Seattle, amassing 97 ¹/₂ sacks — but he really collected 116 sacks, notching 18 ¹/₂ in his first three years, before sacks became an official stat in 1982.

The closest Green got to a Super Bowl was losing to the L.A. Raiders in the AFC title game after the 1983 season.

Now he’s living a dream, as his Seahawks are set to take on the Broncos with a player in Bryant who followed directly in his footsteps — Texas A&M to Seattle — and most assuredly is one of the ties that bind.

“Red has been like a son to me. It’s pretty amazing to see how much he’s grown since the time I’ve known him,’’ said Green, who has a grandson and granddaughter from the Red-Janelle marriage.

Bryant said when he was a freshman, he and Janelle — who was a sophomore — met in study hall, a story teammate and defensive line-mate Michael Bennett corroborates, with a twist.

“Janelle is one of my good friends. I met her before Red did, and I actually helped introduce them,’’ said Bennett, a fellow A&M student who was in that same study hall.

After about a year and a half of dating, the relationship started getting serious, and Bryant started spending more and more time at Janelle’s house. That’s when he found out Janelle Green was the daughter of the Jacob Green.

“I was just shocked,’’ Bryant said.

Green was a star defensive end at Texas A&M, and Bryant recalled Green “coming to talk to the football team when I was a player there, but I didn’t piece it together until I went to her home in Katy [Texas],’’ Bryant said.

Red and Janelle were married Feb. 29, 2009, and just like that, Jacob Green added a 323-pounder to his family.

“It’s just crazy how Jacob doesn’t have a son, but in his eyes he still does have a son that married his daughter. It’s just crazy,’’ Bennett said. “I can only imagine how he feels.’’

Here’s how he feels:

“I told Red, ‘You got to enjoy this. This is special, once in a lifetime, something to be cherished,’ ” Green said. “He is such a gentleman. If my other two daughters were married and if they find somebody like Red, outside of football, with his character, that would be fine with me. He’s truly a nice young man.’’

Bryant said Green has told him, “I’m like the son he never had, and that means a lot to me. We got an extremely close relationship, given the fact that he’s my father-in-law. I know a lot of times a lot of people are not close with their in-laws, but I’ve been very blessed to have a great father-in-law and a great mother-in law.’’

Bryant is one of the heftiest defensive ends in the league and is highly-regarded within his own locker room. He’s the defensive team captain for the second consecutive season. The six-year veteran is a run-stuffer and one of the longest-tenured players on the team.

Another hurdle Bryant had to overcome was dyslexia, a disorder characterized by difficulty in learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension, despite normal intelligence. Bryant is the first member of his family to graduate from college.

“I recall growing up, people telling me I wasn’t going to achieve anything, lot of people said I wouldn’t graduate,’’ said Bryant, who to this day at times writes things backwards and has trouble pronouncing certain words. “I definitely take pride in telling younger people how important your education is. If I can do it I believe anybody can do it.’’

It is yet another reason Green is such a fan, as Bryant gears up for a game his father-in-law never reached.

“Couldn’t have written a better script,’’ Green said, “or planned it like this.’’