Growing up in Montvale, N.J., ?about 20, 25 minutes away,? Devin McCourty was aware of the kid, seven months his elder, who was making a name for himself as both a running back and a point guard at New York?s New Rochelle High School.
?I knew of him,? the Patriots safety said, speaking of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice on Thursday, ?but I didn?t know him.?
That would change in time, their paths ultimately crossing on the football field at Rutgers University.
?We came in together so we?re pretty good friends,? said McCourty. ?We hang out a little bit in the offseason. There was a bunch of us that went to school together that came in at the same time at Rutgers and won a lot of games.?
Friendship gets sacked by football on Sunday night as McCourty and Rice will line up on opposite sides of the ball for opposing teams when the Patriots play host to the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium.
?The biggest thing, I think, is that none of that will matter Sunday,? said McCourty. ?We?ll be going at it just like every other time we?ve played in the NFL.?
This will mark the fourth time the two have faced each other as pros, McCourty?s Patriots winning by identical scores of 23-20 in the regular season in 2010 (that one went into overtime) and 2011 AFC title game, Rice?s Ravens prevailing, 31-30, in the third week of the 2012 regular season.
McCourty was the Patriots? first-round pick (27th overall) in the 2010 draft, by which time Rice, a second-round choice (55th overall) after he?d left Rutgers as a junior, had already rushed for 1,793 yards and accounted for another 975 yards receiving over two seasons with the Ravens.
?No, not at all,? McCourty answered when asked if he were surprised by the early impact the undersized (5-foot-8, 212 pounds) Rice made in the pros. ?That was our guy. He made a lot of big plays for us.
?When we watched as he went into the NFL I think we were all excited for him. You never know what?s going to happen, but I don?t think there (were) many guys in college that doubted he was going to be able to be a success in the NFL.?
The success has continued, Rice?s 1,143-yard season in 2012 marking his franchise-record fourth straight thousand-yard campaign, earning him the third Pro Bowl berth of his career.
Rice produced another 478 yards on 61 receptions out of the backfield, one of them a made-for-the-highlight-reel 29-yard catch and run that converted a fourth-and-29 and led to a late game-tying field goal in a 16-13 overtime victory at San Diego on Nov. 25.
While overshadowed by the team?s passing game last Saturday, Rice carried the ball 30 times for 131 yards and a touchdown in the Ravens? 38-35 double-overtime win in their divisional playoff game at Denver.
?His balance,? McCourty answered when asked the greatest attribute he saw in Rice at Rutgers. ?I think that still shows in the NFL. Just maybe because he is so small, he has great balance and leg strength that allows him to break a lot of tackles.?
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