Former Rutgers CB Devin McCourty chats with TKR at Injury Prevention Camp
WEST ORANGE -- New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty shows his face and helps out at a lot of football camps every summer where he gets to talk to kids and instruct them how to do drills on the gridiron.
Monday was no different for the former Rutgers All-Big East first team pick at cornerback as he was on the campus of Seton Hall Prep in West Orange at the Injury Prevention Camp.
Before the full day of football activities and a talk with surgeons from the New Jersey Orthopaedic Institute got going, McCourty was kind enough to chat with The Knight Report about his twin brother, Jason, joining him on the Patriots after all these years, the Scarlet Knights football program, and more.
Devin, a first round NFL Draft pick in 2010 by New England, has enjoyed all the glory and success as he is a two-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Pro Bowler, and a three-time Second team All-Pro selection. Meanwhile, Jason hasn’t been as lucky as the 2009 sixth round pick by the Tennessee Titans hasn’t racked up any accolades or even made playoffs once.
But now, after a trade between the Cleveland Browns, who Jason played for last year, and the Patriots, the Nyack, N.Y. dynamic duo are whole again for the first time since 2009 at Rutgers.
“It’s a good feeling,” Devin said on his brother joining him in the NFL. “It’s kind of like throwing it back to the college days. I think that’s always been a dream of ours to be able to go through his process. It’s kind of unique that it’s happening now. I think so much of our growth and we became individual players and leaders has been separate, and now to bring it together in his 10th year and my ninth year, we expect to have a lot of fun this year.”
McCourty wasn’t coached by current Scarlet Knights head coach Chris Ash, who is entering his third season at the helm, but he’s been around the program and Ash plenty enough to have an opinion and where things are going.
“I think he’s been good,” McCourty said of Ash. “We’ve had a good opportunities to talk to him in different settings. He just seems like a really good football mind. From afar, I love what the program is doing regards of competitiveness from the videos I see on social media and the way they competed on the field each year. It’s hard coming into the situation Rutgers was it, but I think what you see from a former player is growth. They get better each year. I’m excited for him to get that full first recruiting class through the door. For Rutgers fans, you should feel as good as you felt in a while cheering on the football team.”
One of the biggest upgrades on campus since McCourty’s college playing days are the new Marco Battaglia Football Practice Complex and the weight room inside of the Hale Center. The new facilities are a big plus according to McCourty and they will help Rutgers get where it wants to go and what it wants to achieve.
“I’ve seen some of them. I’ve seen the new practices fields from the outside when I went to the spring game and the weight room. It’s an improvement,” McCourty said. “They’re great. I think that’s what you have todo. When you move into the Big Ten you have and want to compete with the higher ups. You obviously want to get there talent wise, but the facilities are all a part of it.
“When I first met Ash, that’s what he was talking to me about, upgrading this and upgrading that. He knows what it takes to win at that level."
Check out the full photo gallery below. Chicago Bears and former Rutgers fullback Michael Burton and ex-NFL and Rutgers linebacker Kevin Malast was also in attendance at the camp.
The Knight Report's Richie Schnyderite contributed to this article.