KJ Duff pushing to be rare Rutgers first-round NFL pick and erase last seasons bad taste

Like many college juniors, KJ Duff looks back and can’t believe how skinny he was when he first showed up at Rutgers. But Duff’s body transformation isn’t the product of late-night food deliveries and partying.He became a self-disciplined, 6-foot-6, 225-pound beast of a receiver by committing to the weight room, monitoring what goes into his body and journaling his every move on certain days. “My receivers coach [Dave Brock] says, ‘If you are big, play big.

If you are fast, play fast.If you are both, God bless you,’ ” Duff told The Post.

“I like to think I’m both.A strong suit of my game is using my body to put myself in the best position, and you have to have that mentality that, ‘It’s mine.’ Any route can be drawn on paper, but when the ball is in the air and it’s you and the DB, you have to out-will him.” No one in college football made more contested catches (22) last season than Duff, who is considered a first- or second-round prospect by scouts for multiple NFL organizations contacted by The Post. A new season begins at 6 p.m.

Thursday against UMass (0-12 last season) in Piscataway. “The way he works is different: You are very fortunate when your best player is your hardest worker, and that is definitely the case,” head coach Greg Schiano said.“If you go to your [NFL] owner with that kid, you can’t go wrong for every reason.” Rutgers made a seven-figure NIL commitment to keep Duff — who was offered bigger payments to transfer — after his breakthrough 1,084-yard season.

The budget wasn’t big enough to keep Duff and his St.Anthony’s (Long Island) and college teammate Ian Strong, another NFL prospect who transferred to California. “It was important for me to leave a legacy and finish what I started,” Duff said.

“With the landscape of college football, there were definitely opportunities.But I decided what was most important to me … was playing for the coaches that believed in me from the start.�...