The nucleus of the Rutgers football team – its two most important leaders and seasoned playmakers – first tumbled into fusion five years ago in a high school classroom about 60 miles north of HighPoint Solutions Stadium.

Leonte Carroo, the Scarlet Knights’ unanimous All-Big Ten receiver, was then the program’s most persistent recruiter. Darius Hamilton, one of the country’s top defensive line prospects, was Carroo’s teammate and close friend at Don Bosco Prep in northern New Jersey. Somehow they landed in every single class together during their senior year. Each time the bell rang Carroo took a minute to convince Hamilton to join him at Rutgers.

“Darius was big time. He had a lot of offers and he wanted to wait to the day before signing day [to choose a school],” Carroo said while leaning against a railing outside the Rutgers practice facility elbow to elbow with his longtime teammate, soaking up a sunny afternoon earlier this spring. “I was always in his ear just telling him, ‘Hey, you’ve got to that's come with me. We’re best friends, this will be fun.”

Hamilton was set on becoming a Florida Gator at the time. He had his pick of dozens of schools with rich football traditions and rosters stocked with blue-chippers like himself, but as Don Bosco rolled through its fourth straight undefeated season that fall he pictured himself winning games with Urban Meyer in Gainesville.

The daily nagging led to a visit to a Rutgers game late in the recruiting process. The game led to Hamilton changing his mind about staying home to play close to family and friends. And that eventually led to last fall, when both players blossomed as NFL prospects. Hamilton was named a captain and the team’s defensive MVP. Carroo broke 1,000 yards receiving and tied a program record with 10 touchdown catches.

Both opted to return to Piscatway for one final season – their eighth together – in their home state. This time it was Hamilton who decided early and spent months selling Carroo on another year at Rutgers before the receiver announced his plans to return in late December.

“Every day,” Hamilton said, “Just like he pulled me to come here.”

“Exactly,” Carroo said. “I pulled him to come here, and he pulled me to stay.”

Their obvious chemistry helps the duo push their teammates and each other at a steady pace on both sides of the ball. Together they are expected to set the tone during an important second season in the Big Ten.

“They feed off of each other’s energy. I see that on a daily basis,” coach Kyle Flood said. “Those two guys are special guys. It’s got nothing to do with football – tremendous work ethic, tremendous competitive drive and the ability to influence everybody around them. That’s really to me what makes them so valuable.”

Carroo’s job description this season includes bringing along an inexperienced group of wide receivers and whoever ends up throwing to them. The Scarlet Knights are replacing four-year starter Gary Nova – another former Don Bosco teammate – at quarterback this fall. Carroo said he has tried to make candidates Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig as comfortable as possible this spring.

Part of reaching that comfort level means making more big plays and contested catches to earn their trust. Nova and Carroo played together for two seasons before arriving at Rutgers and as a result connected on as many deep balls as anyone in the conference last year. Building that same chemistry with a new quarterback means putting in time together on the field and away from it.

“I hang out with those guys a lot,” Carroo said. “I try to build great relationships. That’s why Gary and I had a great relationship on the field, because of the relationship off the field.”

Hamilton is just as busy mentoring young talent on the defensive line this spring. His group ranked fourth in sacks among Big Ten teams last year but second to last in rushing yards allowed while adjusting to the new league. Rutgers is replacing one interior defensive lineman this year and also hoping to turn pass-rush specialist Kemoko Turay into a more complete player after a standout freshman season.

Turay, a relative newcomer to football, said Hamilton has played a crucial role in helping him learn some of the finer points of stopping the run. The incessant nagging that Hamilton learned to endure from Carroo during their last year of high school is coming in handy. He said he bugs Turay about details on a daily basis even when the up-and-comer is visibly sick of hearing it.

“I think with this group more than ever the guys we have are ready to work,” Hamilton said. “You have to take advantage of it. They’re coming out with a coach-me attitude. That’s a recipe for success.”

Hamilton and Carroo have a high bar for success after winning every game they played together in high school. They chose to stay in New Jersey four years ago in hopes of bringing conference championships to Rutgers. Carroo said he wants to be part of a team that creates the same excitement as Rutgers’ seminal 2006 overtime win over Louisville – the moment that first made him fall in love with the school.

Rutgers finishes its spring season with a scrimmage under the lights Friday night. On Saturday, coaches hand their teams to senior leaders like Hamilton and Carroo for the offseason and a few more months of pushing each other before one last season together.