Bill Belichick

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

It's a running joke about Bill Belichick's preference for players, but the New England Patriots' Rutgers-to-Foxborough pipeline has served them pretty well in recent years -- and on Sunday night in particular.

Right now, the Patriots have four former Scarlet Knights on the active roster -- S Devin McCourty, S Duron Harmon, CB Logan Ryan, LB Jonathan Freeny. In their win over the Houston Texans, the Patriots got plenty of defensive contributions across the board, but once again, those products of the Rutgers program jumped out.

In addition to spending draft picks on a number of Rutgers players, Belichick is known to pursue them as free agents (either after the draft or as veterans). But why is Belichick so keen on Rutgers players? He was asked about it during his Monday appearance on WEEI's "Dale & Holley Show"

Part of the pipeline is due to Belichick having a close association with former Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano (who went on to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Belichick said. The other part has to do with the type of players theatcome out of the program.

From WEEI:

That current list of Rutgers players on the Patriots doesn't even include recent departures like LB Steve Beauharnais, TE Tim Wright, DE Alex Silvestro, DB Nate Jones, WR Tiquan Underwood, DE Justin Francis, OT Kevin Haslam, WR Mark Harrison and CB Brandon Jones.

The list of former Scarlet Knights in Foxborough isn't as extensive as it once was. However, the ones who are present have become a big part of the defense.

In the secondary, safeties Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon -- along with cornerback Logan Ryan -- played a huge part in shutting down the Texans offense Sunday. Ryan, in particular, stood out against DeAndre Hopkins. With safety help over the top, Ryan limited one of the league's best receivers to just three catches for 52 yards.

Jonathan Freeny, a former special teamer who's stepped up due to injuries in the linebacking corps has also been a key defensive component, filling in for the absences of Jamie Collins and later Dont'a Hightower.

The last time Belichick drafted a Rutgers player was in 2013, when he took Ryan, Harmon and Beauharnais all in the same draft. Since then, the flow of Rutgers players coming in has slowed down. The most recent addition overall is Freeny, who came in as a free agent in March.