This did not happen too often.

A recruiter from a Power 5 football conference was on campus at Edgewood High School in Harford County, Md. College coaches from Division II and III schools were not an uncommon sight in the hallways, but a Division I school interested in one of Edgewood’s players? That was something different for a public school hardly on the must-visit list.

Charles Johnson, at the time the head football coach at Edgewood, called down to a classroom to alert Deonte Banks that someone important was there to see him. It was December, and Banks had arrived at the football office in attire in vogue for 16-year-old boys: an oversized winter coat.

Banks was a well-proportioned athlete, but he gave off a gangly appearance with his indoor choice of outerwear.

“You don’t ever lift weights, do you?’’ the recruiter asked Banks, clearly not impressed with what he was viewing for the first time.

Johnson preferred not to reveal which school was represented in this exchange. Banks, more than five years later, had no such reservation. He said it was Syracuse.

“He wanted to see my body,’’ Banks recalled. “I didn’t know nothing about that, it was my first one. It was cold that day, so I wore a coat. I didn’t know it was a big problem until he made it a big problem. I just felt like it was something new to me, something I had to learn. After that, I never wore coats in meetings.’’

Johnson instructed Banks to wear a form-fitting shirt the next time a college recruiter came by “so these coaches can see what you look like. After that, no matter how cold it was, he’d have his T-shirt on and a coach would start taking pictures.’’

Banks stayed local and accepted a scholarship to play at Maryland. Four years later, the Giants traded up one spot in the first round of the 2023 draft and selected Banks with the 24th-overall pick. He will compete for a starting job at cornerback, and the expectation is he will fill that role immediately in his rookie season.

“If someone would have told me when he was in 11th grade this kid is gonna be a No. 1 draft pick, I would have said ‘No, no, no,’ ’’ Johnson told The Post. “We did not know what we had.’’

It would be revisionist history to state the Giants and Deonte Banks were always made for each other.

“If you go back to September, Deonte wasn’t somebody that was on the radar,’’ Brandon Brown, the Giants’ assistant general manager, acknowledged.

The area scouts took a closer look at Banks and liked what they saw. General manager Joe Schoen got a live look at Banks, as did top personnel men Tim McDonnell and Dennis Hickey. Brown attended the Maryland-Ohio State game, and watched as Banks competed at a high level against Marvin Harrison Jr., the Buckeyes’ stud receiver.

“Then he ends the game and blocks a kick,’’ Brown said. “I just think his competitiveness is something that you covet in our system, especially playing a lot of man [coverage].’’

Head coach Brian Daboll hit it off with Banks when they met at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale began envisioning Banks in the Giants’ system. Brown and special assistant Jessie Armstead took Banks out to dinner before Maryland’s Pro Day. Jerome Henderson, the cornerbacks coach, dug deep into Banks for some classroom work.

“Unbelievable guy,’’ Henderson said. “It was the most enjoyable thing that you could imagine. Me and him, one-on-one, working, me learning from him, him learning from me. It was absolutely enjoyable to do it. He had really good energy and throughout the process I learned from him as we talked.’’

Henderson, a former NFL player and longtime assistant coach, learned from the 22-year-old Banks?

“In our league, there’s a progression for corners to go through: Backfield set, look at that, what does it tell me, what does the formation tell me, what does the split tell me?’’ Henderson said. “He and I were going through that, and he helped me understand in that process that I had never articulated the exact progression. It made me a better teacher that I needed to be exact on the progression. What is first, what is second, what is third, what is fourth. I’ve since changed how I talk about it and I teach it in the exact progression.’’

Banks felt it.

“It was real smooth,’’ he said. “The first time I met with them was with Wink and coach Jerome, it was real chill. I had a real good vibe, it was just real. It was real cool, everyone was laughing.

“Sometimes you just jell into somebody, you’re talking, you just jell together. Some teams I didn’t do that, and some teams I did. The Giants felt the most family-like.’’

Brooks Kimbrough was the offensive coordinator during Banks’ freshman and sophomore years at Edgewood. Banks was a receiver and later a running back and cornerback.

“Just very athletic, very strong for a freshman, hard worker, loved the game of football, took pride in whatever he did,’’ Kimbrough told The Post. “You could tell on the field he was different from everybody else, his speed and the strength. He came in as a freshman stronger than some of our seniors. He was probably already benching like 155, 165. That’s pretty strong for around here, for a freshman.

“He wasn’t your typical jock who just wanted to hang out with people who were athletes. He got along with everybody, everybody loved him, his teachers, he was a good kid in the classroom and a true example of what a student-athlete should be. You have a lot of kids in high school who are pretty good at sports and they tend to goof off in the hallway or in the classroom. He was a kid, once he was in the classroom, it was all about business and taking care of his work. When he got into the weight room or on the football field, it was all about business and improving himself.’’

With big hands and springs for legs, Banks was also a natural rebounder on the basketball team.

“I kept saying to myself, if someone in Maryland is better than this kid, I’d really like to see it. We put him on their best receiver, and it was a wrap.”

Charles Johnson, former head coach at Edgewood High School

“He was just different, a kid you don’t see every day coming through Edgewood High School,’’ said Kimbrough, who currently is a school liaison, working with the school administration and school resource officers to deal with behavioral issues. “He set the bar high, and there’s a lot of kids here now who are trying to reach his potential, which is a good thing.’’

One game, Johnson watched Banks run through Millford Mills Academy, one of the top programs in the Baltimore area, and realized he had something special.

“Little Edgewood, we were not used to having a talent like that,’’ Johnson said. “We didn’t know we had one of the best ballplayers in the state. Most of the best ballplayers go to private schools. I kept saying to myself, if someone in Maryland is better than this kid, I’d really like to see it. We put him on their best receiver, and it was a wrap.’’

The last game of Banks’ senior year, Johnson held his star out of the starting lineup because he caught Banks and his brother fooling around in a car in the school parking lot.

“It wasn’t really too crazy,’’ Banks said. “It wasn’t really nothing, wasn’t speeding or nothing, we were just driving around and we were out the window, that’s all.’’

When Banks finally got in the game, against Fallston, he scored a touchdown on his first touch. Then another, and another. Three touchdowns on three touches, totaling more than 120 yards.

“Oh, my goodness, he put on a show,’’ Johnson said.

“I didn’t really learn a lesson because it wasn’t really that serious to me,’’ Banks said.

In the summer, Banks would knock on Johnson’s office door, asking for a football to use to work out. It got to the point at which so many footballs were lent out that Johnson had to take Banks’ wallet or his car keys as insurance that Banks would return the equipment.

“I never saw the cockiness, it’s always ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir,’ ’’ Johnson said.

Johnson recalled seeing Banks’ entire family standing along the fence, cheering him on during games, never shouting anything negative about anyone. He expects Banks will have plenty of support from his family during Giants games.

“He was brought up in a good way, and it shows,’’ Johnson said. “Deonte knew he was better than everyone around him and he didn’t try to embarrass anyone.’’

Banks is a big deal at Edgewood, the first player from the school to be drafted into the NFL. Before Banks, the Bradley brothers, who were selected in the NBA draft (Dudley to the Pacers in 1979, Charles to the Celtics in 1981), were the athletic standard-bearers at Edgewood.

There is a Hall of Fame wall at the school, reserved for former students who usually get enshrined later in their lives. Kimbrough hopes to fast-forward the process and include Banks sooner, rather than later.

“Just so our kids can see this is what I can do if I put my mind to it and work hard,’’ Kimbrough said.

“I talk to the kids and say Deonte, he had fun in high school, but when it was about business, he was about business. Taking care of grades in the classroom and working hard on the football field. He wasn’t goofing off. You can enjoy high school and still have fun, but still do what is necessary to get you into college and maybe one day get to the NFL or the NBA.’’

Hearing that, Banks seemed taken aback.

“To me, it means a lot, because I really had fun,’’ Banks said. “I always had a smile on my face all day, I never had a bad day and I never do have a bad day. Because I don’t really do bad days.

“You just got to put in your everyday life. Some people say it’s like a switch, to me it’s not really a switch, I just feel that’s who I am. That’s how that goes, that’s just me, that’s just in me.’’

It has been quite the grind for Banks, going from his college football season to draft preparation to the selection by the Giants to the rookie minicamp to the spring workouts. There was only a short break before the start of his first NFL training camp, as rookies reported Tuesday.

Banks, while contemplating the brief respite, sounded down about the down time.

“I really just want to play football, I want to put pads on,’’ he said. “We ain’t really had no down time, so why not just keep going?’’