It was the day before the 91st East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Wisconsin safety Mike Caputo was visiting with a friend, West Allegheny football coach Bob Palko, for whom he played on the high school level.

“He came down to St. Petersburg to watch the game with my parents,” recounted Caputo about the game he and his West teammates won, 29-9, Jan. 23 at Tropicana Field. “He told me the day before the game: ‘You’re going to win [defensive] MVP of this game. You are going to win the MVP.’”

Maybe someone should see if Palko has any stock tips. Or, maybe he knew more than just a little bit about the 6-1, 206-pound safety from Imperial who was a three-year starter on a Badgers’ team that went 10-3 in 2015 and defeated the University of Southern California, 23-21, in the Holiday Bowl.

Caputo played on Palko’s 2009 West Allegheny team that won the WPIAL Class AAA championship against Hopewell, 36-28, and advanced to the PIAA Class AAA semifinals before falling to Manheim Central, 45-27.

Caputo rewarded Palko’s prescience with two interceptions and three tackles to secure the Defensive MVP trophy. His first-half interception came against fellow Badger Joel Stave, who played for the East team. He returned the ball 66 yards to the East 11 where he was tackled by Stave. He intercepted Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock’s fourth-quarter pass in the end zone to snuff out a drive.

Caputo met up with Palko after the game, and the coach had a succinct question: “’What did I say? I told you!’’’

Caputo had practiced against Stave throughout his college career, and he’s an expert at figuring out an offensive scheme with split-second timing.

“I just read the play,” he said. “I knew where the ball was going to be thrown. It could have been any quarterback.”

The two picks he had in that game matched the total he had for the Badgers’ 13-game season. He said the defensive scheme implemented for the all-star game was different than the one used at Wisconsin.

“In the Shrine game, I was able to jump a lot more stuff,” he said. “But in the Wisconsin defense, I was engaged in the box more, so I didn’t put myself in those positions [to intercept passes].”

He credited the West team’s pass rush for the second interception.

“The pass rush kind of got there, and [Rudock] didn’t have time to set,” he said. “He just threw it up, and I just had the opportunity [to intercept the pass].”

Caputo said that every player selected to play in the game deserved to be there, and he was glad he had the chance.

“It was fun and a great experience,” he said. “I knew it was an opportunity to go against some of the best guys in the country who want to compete in the NFL on the next level. It was good to get to know [the other players] and the coaches. The Shriners set everything up. All of the profit from the game goes to Shriners Hospitals, and that’s cool.”

With his college career now a memory, Caputo is training at the Fischer Sports Institute in Phoenix. He arrived there Jan. 3, went to St. Petersburg for the all-star game and will remain in Phoenix until March 4.

He said a typical day begins about 8:30 a.m., and the morning session involves stretching, core and abdominal circuit training, some light running and some speed training. After lunch, he does some weight training for two hours. He said he’s training with about 15 other NFL hopefuls.

He’s not certain where he will end up with his degree in life sciences communication and a certificate in entrepreneurship, but he is certain that Palko’s role in his life has meant a great deal.

“Playing for coach Palko turned me into the man I am today,” he said. “He taught me to be one of those guys to outwork everybody. I had a lot of energy and the will and effort, but I didn’t know what direction to apply it. He showed me what I needed to be successful.

“He was like a second father to me. He’s been my biggest mentor in the whole process of junior year when I started going to West Allegheny and throughout high school and into college and even now. He’s just been a mentor to me, and I’ve taken his advice and we stay in touch. He’s one of the most influential people I’ve had in my life.”

First Published: February 5, 2016, 5:00 a.m.