NEW BRUNSWICK. N.J. — When the football schedule came out for Rutgers’ inaugural Big Ten Conference season, Eric LeGrand and Adam Taliaferro came up with something special for the Penn State game.

Linked forever by spinal cord injuries, LeGrand and Taliaferro decided to make a game one with a cause instead of simply being a rivalry contest between the neighboring New Jersey and Pennsylvania schools.

“We thought it would be pretty cool if we could do something around the game,” Taliaferro said Wednesday after making an appearance with LeGrand at to PSE&G’s Children’s Specialized Hospital, which treats children with life-changing illnesses throughout New Jersey.

LeGrand and Taliaferro will have a role Saturday when Penn State (2-0) plays Rutgers (2-0) in the kickoff to the Big Ten season. Taliaferro will serve as the Nittany Lions’ honorary captain, while LeGrand will be the Scarlet Knights’ honorary leader.

Both were paralyzed playing for the universities.