From the first time they met, Landon Feichter could tell Ricardo Allen was different.

It was in training camp in 2010, when Feichter, then a rookie safety trying to find his niche, kept noticing Allen on the practice field, even though the Florida native was only a freshman. During a one-on-one drill in camp, Feichter recalls, a veteran wide receiver torched cornerback Mike Eargle, a J.C. transfer, for a big gain.

But when the wideout came up again, it was Allen’s turn in the rotation. Surely, the receiver thought he’d have the same success vs. the first-year cornerback.

“But (Allen) just shut him down,” Feichter said. “It was then where he started to get more looks from (secondary) coach (Lou) Anarumo and then obviously ended up playing as a freshman.”

Perhaps then big things should have been projected for Allen. Yet, few could have predicted that the undersized 5-foot-9 cornerback would become a starting safety in the Super Bowl nearly seven years later. But it’s fact; Allen will start for Atlanta in Super Bowl LI Sunday night in Houston, as the Falcons play another former Boilermaker, Rob Ninkovich and the New England Patriots.

For Allen, his story’s always been about silencing the doubters. He didn’t have many high-profile offers out of high school, with some programs, like Michigan State and Miami, taking a look but then telling him — through third parties — that he was too short to warrant an offer.

But he was wanted at Purdue, and in West Lafayette, he was exceedingly driven to find success. He got it early. His first start was the 2010 season-opener at Notre Dame, the first of 12 consecutive starts his rookie year and 48 in his four-year career.

During that span, Allen collected four interceptions he returned for a touchdown, setting a Purdue record, and was named second-team All-Big Ten his junior and senior seasons.

“He always did have a chip on his shoulder for being a little smaller,” said Feichter, who works and lives in Indianapolis. “… He was playing with something to prove.”

Although Jon Heacock spent only a season as Purdue’s secondary coach, he could see immediately that Allen was of a different type. At that time, Allen’s senior year in 2013, Purdue was on its third secondary coach in a four-year span. Yet Allen, Heacock said, stayed a steady presence.

“(Sometimes), I don’t think the coaches matter, I don’t think the schemes matter, there’s just some guys who get it and he was going to make himself a player no matter what the circumstances were,” said Heacock, who is in his second season as the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Iowa State. “And you’ve got to have a lot of respect for guys like that. He was very determined in who he was and what he was and what he wanted. You’ve got to have a lot of respect for those kind of guys.”

Following his senior year, Allen was a fifth-round selection of Atlanta in 2014, but wasn’t an immediate contributor. Instead, he spent his first NFL season on the practice squad, aligning himself to potentially play as a reserve, probably nickel back, during his second year.

But new Falcons coach Dan Quinn had other ideas, shifting Allen to safety and making him a starter. Heacock, a veteran defensive coach of 33 seasons, wasn’t surprised.

“Ricardo was very physical and very versatile,” Heacock said. “All the (NFL) coaches who came in thought he was a nickel or a safety. Every guy I talked to. … I don’t know that he ever saw himself as that, but when they’d call or stop — I know several of those coordinators in the League — they were looking at him as a nickel back or the high safety. Thought his instincts were great, did have some physicality, could tackle. And did have the ability to cover.

“I’m not surprised he’s playing safety, because he had a lot of instinctiveness that you can’t coach. I think he has it. He’s a game studier, an opponent studier.”

It served Allen well, especially now in his second season as a starting safety. During the regular season, he had 90 tackles and two interceptions, but he’s come on even more during the Falcons’ playoff run, picking off two more passes in the last two weeks.

It’s a sign that Allen’s still an improving player.

“He was a really hard worker, really loved the game, spent a lot of time in the film room, was a very mental player. Loved knowing everything about the game, all that stuff. That’s why he’s had success, in my opinion,” Heacock said. “At that level, you’ve got to have something different. Everyone is talented, but I think you’ve got to have something different, but I would guess his work ethic and love of the game, along with the talent, has allowed him to have success.”

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