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When Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz takes the field on Super Bowl Sunday, he’ll have extra motivation to beat the man covering him.
It’s the guy who took his scholarship.
Devin McCourty, the top cornerback for the New England Patriots, bested Cruz when the two players from North Jersey battled for the final football scholarship to Rutgers University in 2004.
Both high-school athletes desperately wanted to attend the best college football program in the state.
PHOTOS: VICTOR CRUZ RETURNS TO PS 21
Both were two-way players and huge Friday-night stars, McCourty at St. Joseph Regional in Montvale and Cruz at Paterson Catholic 20 miles away.
“I was pushing him hard to Rutgers. I mailed them more tapes than anyone ever,” said Cruz’s high-school coach, Benjie Wimberly. “I was convinced this was going to be his shot.”
But it was McCourty who got the free ride — and a chance to play for Greg Schiano, the coach who resurrected the Rutgers program and who last week was hired to take over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I was probably more brokenhearted than Vic,” Wimberly said.
The decision also jolted Cruz’s family. His late father, Mike Walker, was convinced his son was destined for the pros and saw the Scarlet Knights as Victor’s ticket to stardom.
“It was kind of tough,” said Cruz’s half-brother, Malik Walker. “I know my father really liked Rutgers, but they wanted him to play corner, and Victor mainly wanted to play receiver. He still could have gone there, but he would have had to walk on, and he wouldn’t have had a scholarship.”
After that, Wimberly struggled to get other colleges to pay attention.
“The schools were coming in, but they didn’t bite because of his size and . . . speed,” Wimberly recalled. “I said, ‘As long as he can go for free.’ ”
Cruz spent a semester hitting the books at a prep school and took what he could get: a scholarship to UMass Amherst, a Division 1-AA school that’s not a football powerhouse.
McCourty, 24, used Rutgers as a springboard. The Patriots drafted him in the first round in 2010, inking him to a five-year, $10 million contract that included a $1.5 million signing bonus.
Cruz played well while at UMass but failed to get drafted. The Giants signed him to a three-year free-agent deal. This year, Cruz, 25, is making $405,000.
Now it’s time for revenge. McCourty will likely be covering Cruz in the Super Bowl, trying to stop him from salsa-dancing to victory.
At a pep rally at School 21 in his hometown of Paterson, NJ yesterday, Cruz gave the frenzied crowd of 5,000 a Joe Namath-style guarantee that he’ll prevail against his old nemesis.
“We are definitely coming back with a ‘W,’ ” he said to wild cheers.
Devin McCourty
* Age: 24
* High School: Saint Joseph Regional in Montvale, NJ
* College: Rutgers, a nationally ranked Division I school with 15 other current NFL players
* Draft: Taken in first round, pick No. 27 overall
* Stats with Patriots: Two interceptions and 87 tackles, third best on team
* Salary: Five-year, $10 million contract in 2010 that pays $1.6 million this season
Victor Cruz
* Age: 25
* High School: Paterson Catholic in Paterson, NJ
* College: UMass, a Division I-AA school with four other current NFL players
* Draft: not drafted
* Stats with Giants: 1,536 receiving yards, a single-season club record, were third best in NFL
* Salary: Three-year, $1.2 million free agent in 2010 deal that pays $405,000 this season