New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz was a relative unknown before breaking out last year for 82 receptions, 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns while helping the team win the Super Bowl in his second season.

But at least one Cincinnati Bengals player knew Cruz before the rest of the country did. Safety Jeromy Miles was a college teammate of Cruz’s at the University of Massachusetts.

“Everybody knew he was special,” Miles said. “Vic has huge hands for his size, he has exceptional quickness for his size and he still has that breakaway speed. That’s a combination that’s hard to cover.”

Cruz, like Miles, went undrafted following their senior season in 2009. But both have stuck with the team their originally signed with, and they stay in contact.

“We keep in touch mostly in the offseason,” Miles said. “The last time we were anywhere together was the bye week last year and we actually went out and watched UMass play a game. It was cool that we all got back together, me, him and some of the guys from school. It was cool rekindling old flames.”

Cruz is on pace to top the reception and touchdown totals he posted a year ago. He enters Sunday’s game with 57 catches for 717 yards and seven touchdowns. He ranks sixth in the NFL in receptions, seventh in receiving yards and tied for third in TDs, one behind the Bengals’ A.J. Green and Green Bay’s James Jones.

“He’s a good player,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “Great quickness, long speed, competitive at the catch, runs hard after the catch. He’s one of those great stories, where he made the most of an opportunity.”

Rivers redux

New York Giants linebacker Keith Rivers may or may not be returning to the place where he made his NFL debut.

A first-round pick (ninth overall) in 2008, Rivers struggled to stay healthy during his time in Cincinnati and was traded for a fifth-round draft pick in April, two weeks before the draft.

When asked how the linebacker is doing, Giants coach Tom Coughlin offered a similar refrain.

“He’s been on and off with injuries and unable to play on a consistent basis,” Coughlin said. “When he has played, he’s done well. He’s been a good special teamer. For the snaps he’s had on defense, he’s done OK. I’d like to see him get on the field and stay there, and I’m sure he would, too.”

Rivers has started three games, played in five and been inactive for four, including last week’s loss to Pittsburgh with a calf injury. He has 20 tackles, including two for loss. He was listed as limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday.

The player the Bengals selected with the draft pick they acquired for Rivers was Boise State safety George Iloka, who has played in five games, mostly on special teams.

Broadcast blackout

The Bengals failed to sell out Sunday’s game against the New York Giants by Thursday’s 1 p.m. deadline, which means the contest will not be televised locally.

The blackout ends a string of five consecutive sellouts, dating back to the 2011 regular season finale against Baltimore. Ten of the 11 games prior to that were blacked out.

This is the third time in the last four seasons the Bengals have played host to the defending Super Bowl champion at Paul Brown Stadium (New Orleans in 2010, Pittsburgh in 2009).

Injury report

Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (thigh) and linebacker Dan Skuta (thumb) were added to the injury report Thursday. Both practiced on a limited basis.

Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis (ill) and cornerback Terence Newman (hamstring) were full participants after being out and limited, respectively.

For the second consecutive day, safety Taylor Mays (knee) and center Trevor Robinson (hamstring) were limited while wide receiver Marvin Jones (knee) and safety Reggie Nelson (hamstring) sat out.