Patriots cornerback Jonathan Wilhite, going for a pass intended for the Seahawks’ Deion Branch (83) in their game earlier this month, has come on strong.

AP / Ted S. Warren

FOXBORO — Maybe the new game should be Six Degrees of Bill Belichick.

Like actor Kevin Bacon, who has a cult-like following and a pop-culture game in his honor, Belichick’s connections have become so varied that an increasing number of players and coaches can be tied to him in six steps or less.

Case in point: New England rookie cornerback Jonathan Wilhite. Before being drafted by the Patriots earlier this year, Wilhite could be traced to Belichick in three steps.

While at Auburn, Wilhite’s defensive coordinator was Will Muschamp. Before taking the reins of the Tigers’ defense in 2006, Muschamp spent five years as an assistant under Nick Saban, first at Louisiana State and then with the Miami Dolphins.

Saban, as is well known, is a good friend of Belichick’s, and served as his defensive coordinator in Cleveland in the early 1990s.

Now, of course, Wilhite has a more direct connection to Belichick, and has made strides in his first season with New England.

Chosen in the fourth round (129th overall), Wilhite has seen his playing time increase in recent weeks, and saw his hard work pay off on Sunday, pulling in his first interception on an underthrown ball from the Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell in the second quarter.

“It was cool; I was excited about it,” Wilhite said yesterday. “[The equipment staff] has the ball for me. I’m going to keep it forever.”

Considered undersized by most NFL scouts at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, Wilhite had a considerable advantage as he went through his pre-draft workouts.

“On a collegiate level, fundamentally, he was probably ahead of most players that I’ve coached coming out of college,” Belichick said. “He had a great college coaching background, so technique-wise he was pretty refined.”

Wilhite has always felt he needs to have solid technique because of his size, and learning from Muschamp and David Gibbs, who now is with the Kansas City Chiefs, at Auburn helped.

“Because I’m smaller, technique is a big thing with me,” he said. “It’s something I paid a lot of attention to in college. The things that my NFL coaches are stressing now were things that were stressed to me in college.”

Sporting shoulder-length hair and an easy smile, Wilhite’s quiet demeanor in interviews apparently covers up his humorous side. After he was drafted, his former coaches spoke of Wilhite the jokester, who could crack up teammates at a moment’s notice.

Thrown into the fire early, as he lined up primarily at slot corner in training camp and had to cover Wes Welker, Wilhite has become more sure of himself on the field as the months of his first NFL season have passed.

“I think he’s improved steadily through the course of the season,” Belichick said. “In some of his opportunities to play and having some success, no question that helps a corner’s confidence to go out there and do it in game situations. It’s good to do it in practice; that helps. But when you’re doing it in games, that’s really good for your confidence.”

Wilhite called his development a “gradual grind.”

“[Early in the season], I was playing a lot of special teams, and I was trying to contribute on special teams. When I’m called to the defense, I try to know my assignments,” he said.

Although he still sees a good deal of time in the slot, Wilhite also has lined up outside, which is in part because of need. Fellow rookie Terrence Wheatley was placed on injured reserve in November with a wrist injury, and Deltha O’Neal’s play has been uneven, leading him to be benched at times.

Wilhite has 17 tackles this season, and four on special teams. Against the Raiders, he not only had the interception, he also broke up a pass in the third quarter.

“He had a big turnover last week, and I think he’s played very competitively at both outside and in the slot,” Belichick said. “The challenge for him now is that teams have seen more of his play and might start attacking him. Sometimes when you are a young corner, you don’t get too much of that until [opposing teams] get enough of you on film and they can figure out what they want to do. But he’s worked hard at it.”

smanza@projo.com