Early NFL days forever bond ex-Boilermaker David Nugent and NFL icon Tom Brady

As far as roommates go, Tom Brady was easy to live with. At least that’s how David Nugent remembers it.

“Clean and calm,” recalled Nugent. “He said one night when I plopped onto the couch and turned on the TV and he sat down at the computer desk behind me: ‘Well, we’ve assumed our positions, haven’t we?’ ” said Nugent.

Like an old married couple … or something like that.

“But he was just a great roommate, great friend, great person, great family,” said Nugent. “It was a cool experience.”

The former Purdue defensive lineman has stories to tell for a lifetime after rooming with the iconic NFL quarterback from 2000-2002, when they both played for the New England Patriots.

Brady and Nugent were afterthoughts upon entering the NFL with the Patriots, Brady the 199th pick in the sixth round out of Michigan in 2000 and Nugent the 201st overall selection in the sixth round. It was just about making the cut and hanging on with a Patriots franchise trying to find its way under first-year coach Bill Belichick.

“Tom was a very considerate roommate,” said Nugent. “Outside of our ‘wild’ Tecmo tourneys, we were pretty low-key.”

Nugent, 46, discussed his Brady roomy days in an Apple TV documentary called “The Dynasty: New England Patriots.” Nugent gave glimpses with still photos and home video of a player who would go from fourth-string quarterback to legend.

The two formed a fast friendship as rookies, as Nugent moved into the condo Brady had bought from Pats player and former Michigan teammate Ty Law.

“We had some things in common,” said Nugent. “We were both sixth-round picks. We played against each other in college. So, we had that familiarity coming in. We had very similar personalities that we picked up on in training camp.”

Nugent and Brady had a third roommate in 2000: Harvard tight end Chris Eitzmann. But it was just Brady and Nugent in 2001, the year Brady led the Patriots to a stunning Super Bowl title over the Rams, and in 2002.

“(Brady) didn’t want to live there by himself,” said Nugent. “And he just asked me one day if I wanted to be a roommate with him, and that’s how that started.”

Nugent had no idea what Brady was to become. No one did. But Nugent saw glimpses on the ground floor of Brady’s career.

“Tom called me from Disney the day after the Super Bowl that he was planning on working out the next morning,” said Nugent. “I went to bed and he still hadn’t flown back in from Orlando yet.

“I woke up to him knocking on my door saying it’s time to go to the stadium. It was still dark outside and we were the only two in the building. I remember thinking ‘this guy just won a Super Bowl and he’s already getting back after it!’ “

Nugent saw the now famous Brady passion in the offseaon, too.

“You go to workouts in the morning, and then you’re done by noon, you got the rest of the day to do whatever,” said Nugent. “So, we would always just compete, whatever it looked like, whether it was video games or any kind of card games. That’s just kind of how we spent our downtime.”

You know the rest of the story. Brady went on enjoy one of the most decorated careers in NFL history, becoming the starting quarterback in 2001 and leading the Patriots to six Super Bowls. He’s a five-time Super Bowl MVP and three-time league MVP. For most, Brady is the GOAT.

“Those early days, people really didn’t expect much,” said Nugent. “Because, he was just so calm. I know that sounds silly to say this, but gentle, too. He wasn’t a big rah-rah guy, but behind the scenes, living together, he was super focused on studying, wanted to maximize his potential. Was never satisfied with being a backup even though he had three guys in front of him.”

Nugent? His NFL stint was more modest, including a stop with the Ravens after playing in New England. He was out of the league after the 2002 season.

As Brady went on to collect Super Bowl trophies and records as arguably the best quarterback in NFL history, Nugent moved into the work-a-day world with career in medical sales and school administration while raising a family that now numbers four children in his native Tennessee.

Nugent matriculated to Purdue as part of Jim Colletto’s last recruiting class in 1996, a grouup that included future Patriot offensive linemen Matt Light and Brandon Gorin. Joe Tiller took over the program in 1997 and helped Purdue to bowls in Nugent’s final three seasons.

Those dynastic New England teams were populated with Boilermakers over the years. In addition to Light, Gorin and Nugent, the Pats also employed Gene Mruczkowski, Rob Ninkovich, Rosevelt Colvin, Niko Koutouvides, Jason King, Ja’Whaun Bentley. All played in or won Super Bowls for Belichick’s teams.

“Coach Belichick, and (director of personnel) Scott Pioli brought me into their office once and asked me about other Purdue players that I would recommend, and they had a couple of names that they threw out specifically,” said Nugent. “I remember they asked about Matt Light, and Rosevelt Colvin and Vinny Sutherland. So, it’s really neat to kind of pump those guys up in front of those two guys and ultimately, end up joining the team.”

Nugent says he has not seen Brady in roughly nine years. The future Hall of Famer is primed to be the lead NFL analyst on FOX broadcasts next season.

“It’s funny, when he was still playing, every year, right around the playoff time, people would want to kind of dig up some old articles or whatever and I would always get asked for just a short little brief interview,” said Nugent.

Nugent’s days helping fill in biographical information won’t end anytime soon.